A Systematic Study on Fabrication and Characterization of Electrospun Poly(alpha-hydroxy ester) Based Nanofibrous Scaffolds

Published

October 12, 2021

Author(s)

W Li, James A. Cooper, Robert L. Mauck, Rocky Tuan

Abstract

The most common type of synthetic biodegradable polymer for tissue engineering applications is the FDA approved, clinically used poly(a-hydroxy esters) that have been fabricated into various scaffolds using different fabrication techniques. The electrospinning process, one of the techniques, is a process used to produce ultra-fine fiber based scaffolds. In this study, we have electrospun six commonly used poly(a-hydroxy esters) into nanofibrous scaffolds and characterized their physical and biological properties. Our results suggest that each polymer requires a specific, optimized fabrication parameter setup to produce a uniform fibrous scaffold. The electrospun, nanofibrous scaffold features morphological similarity to the ECM of natural tissue, which is characterized by a wide range of pore diameter distribution and high porosity, meeting the essential design criteria of an ideal tissue-engineered scaffold. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed a highly porous, three-dimensional structure for all scaffolds, with average fiber diameter ranging from 300 nm to 1.5 microns, depending on the polymer type used. The PGA containing nanofibrous structures, including PLGA5050 and PGA, were mechanically stiffest, whereas the PLLA and PCL were most compliant. Severe structural destruction due to polymer degradation was found in the PGA, PDLLA, PLGA5050, and PLGA8515 nanofibrous scaffolds whereas PLLA and PCL nanofibrous scaffolds were able to maintain a robust scaffold structure during the same time period, based on macroscopic and SEM observations. In addition, cells on the PLLA scaffolds proliferated more rapidly than the other polymeric scaffolds. That PLLA and PCL based nanofibrous scaffolds exhibit the most optimal structural integrity and favored biological response in culture suggests that both scaffolds may be promising candidate biomaterials for tissue engineering applications.

Citation

Acta Biomaterialia

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

biomaterials, bovine chondrocytes, human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal, nanofiber, nanofibrous scaffold, stem cells, tissue engineering

Citation

Li, W. , Cooper, J. , Mauck, R. and Tuan, R. (2021), A Systematic Study on Fabrication and Characterization of Electrospun Poly(alpha-hydroxy ester) Based Nanofibrous Scaffolds, Acta Biomaterialia (Accessed April 20, 2024)