A biomimetic tubular scaffold with spatially designed nanofibers of protein/PDS bio-blends.
Electrospun tubular conduit (4 mm inner diameter) based on blends of polydioxanone (PDS II(R)) and proteins such as gelatin and elastin having a spatially designed trilayer structure was prepared for arterial scaffolds. SEM analysis of scaffolds showed random nanofibrous morphology and well-interconnected pore network. Due to protein blending, the fiber diameter was reduced from 800-950 nm range to 300-500 nm range. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results confirmed the blended composition and crystallinity of fibers. Pure PDS scaffold under hydrated state exhibited a tensile strength of 5.61 +/- 0.42 MPa and a modulus of 17.11 +/- 1.13 MPa with a failure strain of 216.7 +/- 13%. The blending of PDS with elastin and gelatin has decreased the tensile properties. A trilayer tubular scaffold was fabricated by sequential electrospinning of blends of elastin/gelatin, PDS/elastin/gelatin, and PDS/gelatin (EG/PEG/PG) to mimic the complex matrix structure of native arteries. Under hydrated state, the trilayer conduit exhibited tensile properties (tensile strength of 1.77 +/- 0.2 MPa and elastic modulus of 5.74 +/- 3 MPa with a failure strain of 75.08 +/- 10%) comparable to those of native arteries. In vitro degradation studies for up to 30 days showed about 40% mass loss and increase in crystallinity due to the removal of proteins and "cleavage-induced crystallization" of PDS.
Thomas
Vinoy
V
Department of Physics, Center for Nanoscale Materials and Biointegration (CNMB), University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), Birmingham, Alabama 35294, USA. vthomas@uab.edu
Zhang
Xing
X
Vohra
Yogesh K
YK
D032701:Biomimetics; D004549:Elastin / Q000378:metabolism; D005780:Gelatin / Q000378:metabolism; D057139:Nanofibers / Q000737:chemistry*; D043942:Nanotubes / Q000737:chemistry*; D016687:Polydioxanone / Q000378:metabolism*; D011506:Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D013718:Tensile Strength; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*
D011506:Proteins; D016687:Polydioxanone; D005780:Gelatin; D004549:Elastin