Fig. 5.

In vivo noninvasive NIR monitoring for scaffold degradation. (A) The hybrid construct containing the CT-PSCs-laden hydrogel and the ZW-PCLG was printed based on CAD design and visualized by 700-nm and 800-nm emission, respectively. Scale bar = 5 mm (B) NIR images of the ZW-PCLG scaffolds in the defected calvarial bone of rats at 1, 2, 4, and 8 weeks post-implantation. Scale bar = 1 cm (C) SEM images of the retrieved PCLG scaffolds at 2, 4, and 8 weeks post-implantation. Scale bar = 500 μm. (D) Quantification of the remained NIR fluorescent intensity in the ZW-PCLG scaffolds. Molecular weight changes measured by (E) GPC and (F) ¹H NMR.