title: Electrospun gelatin/poly(L-lactide-co-epsilon-caprolactone) nanofibers for mechanically functional tissue-engineering scaffolds.
abstract: Recently, much attention has been given to the fabrication of tissue-engineering scaffolds with nano-scaled structure to stimulate cell adhesion and proliferation in a microenvironment similar to the natural extracellular matrix milieu. In the present study, blends of gelatin and poly(L-lactide-co-epsilon-caprolactone) (PLCL) (blending ratio: 0, 30, 70 and 100 wt% gelatin to PLCL) were electrospun to prepare nano-structured non-woven fibers for the development of mechanically functional engineered skin grafts. The resulting nanofibers demonstrated the uniform and smooth fibers with mean diameters ranging from approx. 50 to 500 nm with interconnected pores, regardless of the composition. The contact angle decreased with increasing amount of gelatin in the blend and the water content of the nanofibers increased concurrently. PLCL nanofibers retained significant levels of recovery following application of uniaxial stress; GP-3 with 70% PLCL blend returned to the original length within less than 10% of deformation following 200% of uniaxial elongation. The overall tensile strength was inversely affected by increase in the gelatin content and degradation rates of the nanofibers were accelerated as the gelatin concentration increased. When seeded with human primary dermal fibroblasts and keratinocytes on the nanofibers, both initial cell adhesion and proliferation rate increased as a function of the gelatin content in the blend. Additionally, the total cell number was significantly greater on the nanofiber scaffolds than on polymer-coated glasses, indicating that nanofibrous structure facilitates cell proliferation. Taken together, gelatin/PLCL blend nanofiber scaffolds may serve as a promising artificial extracellular matrix for regeneration of mechanically functional skin tissue.
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, Hanyang University, 17 Haengdang-dong, Seongdong-ku, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Sung In
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.forename: Ai-Young
authors.initials: AY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Young Moo
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Heungsoo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shin
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005780:Gelatin / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D011091:Polyesters / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D013718:Tensile Strength; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D011091:Polyesters; C062968:lactide-caprolactone copolymer; D005780:Gelatin