Figure 4.

Effect of uniaxial tensile loading on matrix organization of ASC-encapsulated 3D collagen scaffolds. Quantified directionality of ASC-seeded collagen constructs subjected to 7 days of uniaxial loading at 0%, 2%, 4%, and 6% strains at 0.1 Hz and 1 Hz frequencies after consolidating the directionality histograms of SEM images obtained using ImageJ analysis shown in Figures 2 and 3. ∗ represents statistical difference from the adjacent strain group. # denotes statistical significance between same strain groups at different frequencies. The directionality of collagen fibers increases with an increase in the magnitude of strain but largely remains unaffected by the change in frequency (except for 6% group).