Figure 6.

Resin sections stained with toluidine blue and basic fuchsin to evaluate degradation of the collagen-based scaffold. Collagen in the scaffold is stained in dark purple and elastin is stained in dark pink. The collagen content decreases over time, leaving elastin fibers (A–F). At early time points, collagen and elastin remain stable (A–C), while at later observation periods, the scaffold seems to become devoid of collagen. At 15 and 30 days, the collagenous constituents of the scaffold is mainly degraded, leaving only elastin fibers surrounded by newly formed collagen stained in light blue or purple (D,E). At 90 days, packages of elastin fibers (yellow circle) are fully integrated within the newly formed soft connective tissue (F).