title: Novel elastomeric fibrous networks produced from poly(xylitol sebacate)2:5 by core/shell electrospinning: fabrication and mechanical properties.
abstract: Fabrication of nonlinear elastic materials that resemble biological tissues remains a challenge in biomaterials research. Here, a new fabrication protocol to produce elastomeric fibrous scaffolds was established, using the core/shell electrospinning technique. A prepolymer of poly(xylitol sebacate) with a 2:5mol ratio of xylitol:sebacic acid (PXS2:5) was first formulated, then co-electrospun with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA - 95,000Mw). After cross-linking of core polymer PXS2:5, the PVA shells were rinsed off in water, leaving a porous elastomeric network of PXS2:5 fibres. Under aqueous conditions, the PXS2:5 fibrous scaffolds exhibited stable, nonlinear J-shaped stress-strain curves, with large average rupture elongation (76%) and Young׳s modulus (~1.0MPa), which were in the range of muscle tissue. Rupture elongation of PXS2:5 was also much higher when electrospun, compared to 2D solid sheets (45%). In direct contact with cell monolayers under physiological conditions, PXS2:5 scaffolds were as biocompatible as those made of poly-l-lactic acid (PLLA), with improvements over culture medium alone. In conclusion, the newly developed porous PXS2:5 scaffolds show tissue-like mechanical properties and excellent biocompatibility, making them very promising for bioengineering of soft tissues and organs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia.
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia.
authors.forename: George A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Thouas
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia. Electronic address: qzchen202@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Qizhi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D004548:Elasticity; D020724:Elastomers; D008422:Materials Testing; D011108:Polymers; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D013718:Tensile Strength; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds; D014993:Xylitol
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D020724:Elastomers; D011108:Polymers; D014993:Xylitol
keywords: Core/shell electrospinning; Cytocompatibility; Mechanical property; Poly(vinyl alcohol); Poly(xylitol sebacate); Stoichiometric mole ratio