title: Characterization, mechanical behavior and in vitro evaluation of a melt-drawn scaffold for esophageal tissue engineering.
abstract: Tubular esophageal scaffolds with fiber diameter ranging from 13.9±1.7μm to 65.7±6.2μm were fabricated from the highly elastic poly(l-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) (PLC) via a melt-drawing method. The morphology, crystallinity, thermal and mechanical properties of the PLC fibers were investigated. They were highly aligned and have a uniform diameter. PLC is found to be semicrystalline consisting of α- and β- lactide (LA) crystals. The crystallinity increases up to 16.8% with increasing melt-drawing speeds due to strain-induced crystallization. Modulus and strength increases while ductility decreases with an increase in crystallinity of the PLC samples. Moisture will not degrade the overall tensile properties but affect its tangent modulus at the low strain. L929 cells are able to attach and proliferate on the scaffolds very well. The cells seeded on the scaffolds show normal morphology with >90% cell viability after 6 days of culture. These results demonstrate that the PLC fibrous scaffold has good potential for use in esophageal tissue engineering application.
authors.affiliation: Singapore Centre for 3D Printing, School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, HW1-01-05, 2A Nanyang Link, Singapore 637372, Singapore. Electronic address: yujuntan1110@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Yu Jun
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Singapore Centre for 3D Printing, School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, HW1-01-05, 2A Nanyang Link, Singapore 637372, Singapore.
authors.forename: Wai Yee
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Yeong
authors.affiliation: Singapore Centre for 3D Printing, School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, HW1-01-05, 2A Nanyang Link, Singapore 637372, Singapore.
authors.forename: Xipeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Singapore Centre for 3D Printing, School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, HW1-01-05, 2A Nanyang Link, Singapore 637372, Singapore.
authors.forename: Jia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: An
authors.affiliation: School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, Singapore.
authors.forename: Kerm Sin
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Chian
authors.affiliation: Singapore Centre for 3D Printing, School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, HW1-01-05, 2A Nanyang Link, Singapore 637372, Singapore.
authors.forename: Kah Fai
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Leong
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D004947:Esophagus / Q000166:cytology*; D055595:Mechanical Phenomena; D051379:Mice; D011091:Polyesters / Q000494:pharmacology; D013696:Temperature; D013718:Tensile Strength; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds
chemical_list: D011091:Polyesters; C062968:lactide-caprolactone copolymer
keywords: 3D printing; Esophagus; Melt-drawing; Microfiber; Tensile properties; Tissue engineering