Figure 1.

(a) Schematic cross-section of modified Flexcell system. This schematic shows the polycarbonate rings (gray) placed around the loading post, which limit the deformation of the membrane when a vacuum is applied. (b) Reinforcement of the polyglycolic acid scaffold with an elastic silicone layer. In the upper part a longitudinal cross-section of the PGA/P4HB scaffold embedded in an elastic silicone layer. A layer of 0.5 mm thick, consisting of MDX4-4210 (Dow Corning, USA). In the lower part rectangular scaffolds (34  ×  5 mm^{2 × ±1–1.2 mm}) were attached to Bioflex culture wells (Flexcell Int. Corp., USA) by applying MDX4-4210 to the outer 5 mm of these constructs