Importance

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Abstract

Composite devices for tissue engineering are provided having a gradient of one or more of the following: materials, macroarchitecture, microarchitecture, or mechanical properties, which can be used to select or promote attachment of specific cell types on and in the devices prior to and/or after implantation. In various embodiments, the gradient forms a transition zone in the device from a region composed of materials or having properties best suited for one type of tissue to a region composed of materials or having properties suited for a different type of tissue. The devices are made in a continuous process that imparts structural integrity as well as a unique gradient of materials in the architecture. The gradient may relate to the materials, the macroarchitecture, the microarchitecture, the mechanical properties of the device, or several of these together. The devices disclosed herein typically are made using solid free form processes, especially three-dimensional printing process (3DP.TM.). The device can be manufactured in a single continuous process such that the transition from one form of tissue regeneration scaffold and the other form of tissue regeneration scaffold have no 'seams' and are not subject to differential swelling along an axis once the device is implanted into physiological fluid.

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First Claim