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10. Textile Scaffold

Research

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Textile scaffolds are innovative structures developed to support cell growth and tissue regeneration in the field of tissue engineering. These scaffolds are created using textile-based techniques, such as weaving, knitting, or braiding, which provide customizable and intricate three-dimensional architectures. The flexibility of textile scaffolds allows for precise control over their mechanical properties, porosity, and geometry, making them highly adaptable to various biological applications.

Fabric-based scaffolds are a cutting-edge innovation in tissue engineering, leveraging textile manufacturing techniques such as weaving, knitting, braiding, and nonwoven processes to create highly adaptable and customizable structures. These scaffolds are designed to replicate the intricate network of the extracellular matrix (ECM), providing physical support for cellular attachment, proliferation, and tissue formation.

The use of textiles offers unique advantages due to their versatility in design. Mechanical properties of fabric scaffolds can be finely tuned by adjusting the weaving or knitting patterns, fiber materials, and production methods. This flexibility allows fabric-based scaffolds to meet the specific demands of different tissues, such as the strength required for bone regeneration or the elasticity needed for skin and cartilage repair.

Fabric scaffolds are typically composed of biodegradable and biocompatible materials, such as poly(lactic acid) (PLA), polycaprolactone (PCL), or natural fibers like silk and collagen. These materials ensure that the scaffold degrades over time as the tissue regenerates, leaving no foreign residues. Moreover, fabric scaffolds can be functionalized with bioactive agents, such as growth factors or antimicrobial coatings, to enhance cellular responses and minimize infection risks.

The development of fabric scaffolds represents a fusion of traditional textile engineering with modern applications, offering a scalable and cost-effective approach to creating complex three-dimensional structures.

Inspiration

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The project »Myko.Plektonik« explores the growth of fungal mycelium on the »Plektonik« structural textiles. The material composition of the »active« yarns was derived from this process to ensure that biological growth can materialize


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The project takes a material-driven approach and focuses on bio-fabrication experiments to control and manipulate SCOBY’s self-assembling and adherence abilities on textile scaffolding. The goal is to design a fabrication process that creates shapes and aesthetics that are unachievable without the textile scaffolding system, emphasizing the significance of DIY fabrication methods.



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Material driven are a strategic interface between advanced, sustainable materials and their applications in the design industries. Creating immersive exhibitions and large-scale temporary installations for our clients, focussed on new, sustainable and sensory materials.

Activity Description

Ingredients & Recipes: crystallization

Prepare this recipe [^1] by collecting the ingredients necessary, to be found in the list below:

=== "Ingredients"

    * 100 g water
    * 35 g CuSO4.5H20 or 65 g Borax

For the handling of these compounds it is necessary to review the safety data sheet.



  • MSDS - MSDS-Sulfato cuprico

    • 250 mL beakers
    • Magnetic stirrer
    • stirring/heating grill
    • Analytical balance
    • Spatule
    • To weigh all ingredients.
    • To pre-heat grill to 37 C.
    • To heat water to 70C.
    • To dissolve Cu in water at 350 rpm.
    • To remove mixture from grill until compound is fully dissolved.

Process and workflow

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  1. The corresponding units of salt and water are weighed and placed on a stirring rack at the indicated temperature until the salt is completely dissolved.
  2. 10 mL of the solution is placed in a 15 mL conical tube.
  3. A strip of the chosen fabric is dipped inside the tube to be in contact with the solution without touching the inner walls of the tube (image shown)
  4. To begin to see the formation of crystals, it is necessary to place the tubes in a cool, quiet place and wait between 24-72 hours.

Ingredients & Recipes: Bio-composite

Tools:
* 250 mL beakers * Magnetic stirrer * Stirring/heating grill * Analytical balance * Spatule

Ingredients: * Carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) * Glycerin * Water * Textile waste

| Material pic | Material name | polymer | plastifier | filler |

| | bio-composite | CMC 15 w/v% | glycerol 1 w/v% | fabric waste |


  1. To weigh the corresponding amounts of water, carboxymethyl cellulose and glycerin
  2. To mix the ingredients in a beaker. Note: CMC tends to form lumps.
  3. To shake until the mixture looks homogeneous, without lumps. On the other hand,
  4. To cut the textile fibers from which the Bio-composite will be made (in this case approximately 1 cm). It is recommended that the fibers not be too large, since the larger the fibers, the greater the chances that the generated Bio-composite will fragment.

Results and more


Fig. 1 Left: CuSO4.5H20 solution; right: Borax solution


Fig. 2 Left: CuSO4.5H20 crystals in solution; right: fabrir and tul with crystals


Fig. 3 Left: tul with CuSO4.5H20 crystals; right: tul with crystals


Fig. 4 CuSO4.5H20 crystals


Fig. 5 Bio-composite (CMC-fabric waste composite)


Fig. 6 Left: Fiber fabric waste. Right: Fiber fabric waste on mold


Fig. 7 left: Fiber fabric waste with CMC. Right: Bio-composite (CMC-fabric waste composite)

NOTE :To ensure the success of the Bio-composite it is necessary that the fibers to be agglomerated are completely filled with the CMC.

Videos

Conclusion

The Textile Scaffold assignment provided a fascinating exploration of crystallization on fabrics, merging chemistry and textile design. By using borax and copper sulfate, I was able to grow intricate crystalline structures on different textile surfaces, observing how material composition and solution concentration influenced the final outcome.

This experiment highlighted the potential of bio-inspired materials in design and fabrication. The transformation of soft, flexible textiles into rigid, crystalline structures opens possibilities for applications in fashion, art, and biomaterials. Additionally, working with these mineral formations deepened my understanding of material interactions and their aesthetic and functional properties.

Beyond its technical aspects, this project reinforced the idea of time as an essential factor in material experimentation—crystallization is a gradual process that requires patience and observation. This balance between control and unpredictability made the experience even more enriching.

Overall, this assignment expanded my perspective on the intersection of science and design, encouraging me to further explore responsive and transformative materials in my future work.

Composites are an alternative for joining textile waste fibers that can be used to make new decorative pieces, textile accessories, or generate new textile materials. It is necessary to explore different polymers (starch, alginates, chitosan, etc.) and textile waste to find the appropriate application.

References & Inspiration


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Material Driven/figcaption>

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