Purpose: A novel composite scaffold comprising a poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) stent and a type II collagen sponge for tissue engineering trachea is developed.

Methods: The PCL stent with surface grooves is fabricated by casting and freeze-drying the PCL solution in a mold container.  The grooves on the stent are filled by the type II collagen with crosslinking treatment (collagen sponge).  The rabbit chondrocytes are seeded onto the collagen sponge so each ring contained 0.1 ml chondrocyte suspension with 3×10⁶ cells.  The cell-scaffold constructs are implanted subcutaneously in the dorsum of nude mice.

Results: After 4 or 8 weeks, constructs are harvested and dedicated for measurement mechanical properties, histology and biochemical assays.  The constructs are strong enough to maintain their tubular shape against extrinsic forces in the dorsum of nude mice.  The gross of the constructs reveal appearance of the cartilage-like tissues.  The constructs can also show excellent mechanical strength at 8 weeks.  On the other hand, cell number and content of GAG and hydroxyproline increase during the culture period.  Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining for the tissue engineering tracheas reveal a mature cartilage similar to the native tissue.  The tissue engineering tracheal cartilage consist of evenly spaced lacunae embedded in the matrix denoting abundant proteoglycans and type II collagen production by safranin-O or by immunohistochemical stainings.