title: Characterization of dielectrophoresis-aligned nanofibrous silk fibroin-chitosan scaffold and its interactions with endothelial cells for tissue engineering applications.
abstract: Aligned three-dimensional nanofibrous silk fibroin-chitosan (eSFCS) scaffolds were fabricated using dielectrophoresis (DEP) by investigating the effects of alternating current frequency, the presence of ions, the SF:CS ratio and the post-DEP freezing temperature. Scaffolds were characterized with polarized light microscopy to analyze SF polymer chain alignment, atomic force microscopy (AFM) to measure the apparent elastic modulus, and scanning electron microscopy and AFM to analyze scaffold topography. The interaction of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) with eSFCS scaffolds was assessed using immunostaining to assess cell patterning and AFM to measure the apparent elastic modulus of the cells. The eSFCS (50:50) samples prepared at 10MHz with NaCl had the highest percentage of aligned area as compared to other conditions. As DEP frequency increased from 100kHz to 10MHz, fibril sizes decreased significantly. eSFCS (50:50) scaffolds fabricated at 10MHz in the presence of 5mM NaCl had a fibril size of 77.96±4.69nm and an apparent elastic modulus of 39.9±22.4kPa. HUVECs on eSFCS scaffolds formed aligned and branched capillary-like vascular structures. The elastic modulus of HUVEC cultured on eSFCS was 6.36±2.37kPa. DEP is a potential tool for fabrication of SFCS scaffolds with aligned nanofibrous structures that can guide vasculature in tissue engineering and repair.
authors.affiliation: Tissue Regeneration and Molecular Cell Engineering Laboratory, Department of Plastic Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Lina W
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Dunne
authors.affiliation: Tissue Regeneration and Molecular Cell Engineering Laboratory, Department of Plastic Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Tejaswi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Iyyanki
authors.affiliation: Tissue Regeneration and Molecular Cell Engineering Laboratory, Department of Plastic Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Justin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hubenak
authors.affiliation: Tissue Regeneration and Molecular Cell Engineering Laboratory, Department of Plastic Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA. Electronic address: amathur@mdanderson.org.
authors.forename: Anshu B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Mathur
mesh_terms: D040761:Biomimetic Materials / Q000138:chemical synthesis; D003585:Cell Biology; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000502:physiology; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000502:physiology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D048271:Chitosan / Q000737:chemistry*; D019245:Compressive Strength; D055119:Elastic Modulus; D004586:Electrophoresis / Q000379:methods; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000737:chemistry / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005337:Fibrin / Q000737:chemistry*; D005615:Freezing; D006244:Hardness; D006801:Humans; D008422:Materials Testing; D008846:Micromanipulation / Q000379:methods; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D057139:Nanofibers / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000295:instrumentation*; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds
chemical_list: D005337:Fibrin; D048271:Chitosan
keywords: Alignment; Cell–substrate interaction; Dielectrophoresis; Nanofiber; Silk fibroin–chitosan scaffolds