Table 3.

Compiled Tensile and Compressive Mechanical Properties of the Cell-Seeded Scaffolds at Week 0 and 5

	Week 0		Week 5
Electrospun cartilage equivalent	Tensile modulus (MPa)	Tensile stress (MPa)	Tensile modulus (MPa)	Tensile stress (MPa)
Aligned	35±2	20±4	43±5	23±3
Random	12.4±4.4	7.4±0.7	15±2.7	5±3.7
Trilaminar composite	25±3	8.4±1	22±6.1	7±0.4

	Week 0		Week 5
Electrospun cartilage equivalent	Compressive modulus (kPa)	Compressive stress (kPa)	Compressive modulus (kPa)	Compressive stress (kPa)
Aligned	136.3±16.6	22.5±2.5	52.5±10.6	8.1±2
Random	511.9±69	61.9±7	520.9±144	58±16.1
Trilaminar composite	152.5±42.2	23.1±4.5	65.7±27.5	9.7±4.4

	Excised tissue
	Compressive modulus (kPa)	Compressive stress (kPa)
Native cartilage	89.5±48.6	14.5±5.3

A 5-week growth period did not significantly affect the tensile properties, yet the compressive properties of the aligned and the trilaminar composite scaffold were significantly different with average stiffness reductions of 84 and 87 kPa, respectively. The random scaffold displayed no significant difference in stiffness. The stiffness values found for the native cartilage compare favorably with the 5-week growth period for the aligned and composite scaffolds.