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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2019 Oct 1.
Published in final edited form as: Nanomedicine. 2017 May 26;14(7):2465–2474. doi: 10.1016/j.nano.2017.02.022

Fig. 5. Gradient in microstructure and mechanical stiffness of scaffold.

Fig. 5

(a) Scanning electron micrographs of gradient hydrogels (GelMA- MκCA). A significant increase in pore size was observed at the interface and MκCA regions, compared to the GelMA region. Compression testing of gradient hydrogels revealed a gradual decrease in compressive moduli when shifting from GelMA region to MκCA region. (b) The addition of nanosilicates (nSi) increased the overall gradient hydrogel pore size with a significant increase in the interface and MκCA nSi regions compared to the GelMA nSi region. Similarly, mechanical testing revealed a gradual decrease in compressive moduli but the inclusion of nSi increased the overall compressive moduli two-fold. (Statistical Analysis: One-way Anova with Tukey’s post-hoc analysis, * p-value<0.05, ** p-value< 0.01, *** p-value<0.001, ****p-value<0.0001)