Design and characterization of a controlled wet spinning device for collagen fiber fabrication for neural tissue engineering

Type I collagen was extruded into well-defined fibers using a novel controlled wet spinning device. The device significantly improved the yield of collagen fibers on the micron scale. Collagen scaffold materials fabricated from the device will provide contact-guided growth of neuronal cultures. Fibers composed of different weight percentages, 75, 2, and 3.4 wt% collagen dispersions, were used to validate Schwann cell alignment along the fibers. Interestingly, the different concentrations of extruded collagen dispersions demonstrated unique morphologies and directed growth patterns of Schwann cells.