title: Creation of macropores in electrospun silk fibroin scaffolds using sacrificial PEO-microparticles to enhance cellular infiltration.
abstract: Electrospun scaffolds are widely used in tissue engineering; however, a common problem is the poor cell infiltration because of the small pore size and tightly packed structure of these fibrous scaffolds. To address this issue, a novel technique was developed to fabricate electrospun silk fibroin (SF) scaffolds with rather macropores and high porosity using electrospraying-generated PEO microparticles as porogen. The morphology and pore size of MPES scaffolds were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy. It was revealed that MPES scaffold had a relatively loose structure with an increase of mean pore size (i.e., approx. 30 μm of MPES vs. approx. 5 μm of traditional electrospun scaffolds (TES) and porosity (i.e., 95% vs. 84% of TES). Culture of mouse 3T3 fibroblast in TES and MPES scaffold revealed that both scaffolds could support cell attachment, spread and proliferation. Yet, cell inflitration in vitro under the static culture condition only occurred in the MPES scaffold. Subcutaneous implantation of scaffolds in rats further confirmed that the tissue ingrowth was more efficient in the MPES scaffold compared to TES scaffold. Thus, the use of PEO microparticles as porogen was a feasible and effective method for creating macroporous electrospun SF scaffold, which provided an alternative to address the limitation of cell infiltration associated with electrospun fibrous scaffold.
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Bioactive Materials, Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Meng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Meifeng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Hongjun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Deling
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kong
authors.forename: Lianyong
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D012831:Bombyx; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D048430:Cell Shape / Q000187:drug effects; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects; D005349:Fibroins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D020007:Implants, Experimental; D051379:Mice; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008863:Microspheres; D041681:NIH 3T3 Cells; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016062:Porosity; D051381:Rats; D040521:Subcutaneous Tissue / Q000187:drug effects; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D005349:Fibroins
keywords: cell infiltration; electrospinning; electrospraying-generated microparticles; silk fibroin; tissue engineering