title: Electrospun nanofibrous polycaprolactone scaffolds for tissue engineering of annulus fibrosus.
abstract: The annulus fibrosus comprises concentric lamellae that can be damaged due to intervertebral disc degeneration; to provide permanent repair of these acquired structural defects, one solution is to fabricate scaffolds that are designed to support the growth of annulus fibrosus cells. In this study, electrospun nanofibrous scaffolds of polycaprolactone are fabricated in random, aligned, and round-end configurations. Primary porcine annulus fibrosus cells are grown on the scaffolds and evaluated for attachment, proliferation, and production of extracellular matrix. The scaffold consisting of round-end nanofibers substantially outperforms the random and aligned scaffolds on cell adhesion; additionally, the scaffold with aligned nanofibers strongly affects the orientation of cells.
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Engineering Program, University of South Dakota, 4800 North Career Avenue, Sioux Falls, SD 57107, USA.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Koepsell
authors.forename: Lifeng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Neufeld
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fong
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Deng
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D003094:Collagen / Q000096:biosynthesis; D004247:DNA / Q000378:metabolism; D006025:Glycosaminoglycans / Q000096:biosynthesis; D007403:Intervertebral Disc / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D057139:Nanofibers / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010316:Particle Size; D011091:Polyesters / Q000737:chemistry*; D016062:Porosity; D034421:Sus scrofa; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D006025:Glycosaminoglycans; D011091:Polyesters; C016240:polycaprolactone; D003094:Collagen; D004247:DNA