Hierarchical Structures: Ice‐Templated Scaffolds with Microridged Pores Direct DRG Neurite Growth (Adv. Funct. Mater. 23/2012)

Hierarchically structured scaffolds are generated by controlled freeze casting of an aqueous biopolymer solution. As reported by Ulrike G. K. Wegst and coworkers on page 4920, under specific freezing conditions, the scaffolds exhibit a highly regular and aligned lamellar architecture. These ridges run parallel to the pore axis and are seen to act as secondary guidance features to align the neuritis of dorsal root ganglia, which is imaged by fluorescent microscopy.