title: Biodegradable scaffolds designed to mimic fascia-like properties for the treatment of pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence.
abstract: There is an urgent clinical need for better synthetic materials to be used in surgical support of the pelvic floor. The aim of the current study was to construct biodegradable synthetic scaffolds that mimic the three-dimensional architecture of human fascia, which can integrate better into host tissues both mechanically and biologically. Therefore, four different polylactic acid (PLA) scaffolds with various degrees of fibre alignment were electrospun by modifying the electrospinning parameters. Physical and mechanical properties were assessed using a BOSE electroforce tensiometer. The attachment, viability and extracellular matrix production of adipose-derived stem cells cultured on the polylactic acid scaffolds were evaluated. The bulk density of the scaffolds decreased as the proportion of aligned fibres increased. Scaffolds became stronger and stiffer with increasing amounts of aligned fibres as measured along the axis parallel to the fibre alignment. In addition, more total collagen was produced on scaffolds with aligned fibres and was organised in the direction of the aligned fibres. In conclusion, the electrospinning technique can be easily modified to develop biodegradable scaffolds with a spectrum of mechanical properties allowing extracellular matrix organisation towards human-like fascia.
authors.affiliation: Material Science & Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK sabiniano.roman@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Sabiniano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Roman
authors.affiliation: Material Science & Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
authors.forename: Naside
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mangir
authors.affiliation: Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Julio
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bissoli
authors.affiliation: Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield, UK.
authors.forename: Christopher R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Chapple
authors.affiliation: Material Science & Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
authors.forename: Sheila
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: MacNeil
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000166:cytology; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003094:Collagen / Q000378:metabolism; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008422:Materials Testing; D056887:Pelvic Organ Prolapse / Q000628:therapy*; D011091:Polyesters / Q000737:chemistry*; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry*; D014550:Urinary Incontinence, Stress / Q000628:therapy*
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D011091:Polyesters; C033616:poly(lactide); D003094:Collagen
keywords: Stress urinary incontinence; biodegradable synthetic scaffolds; electrospinning; extracellular matrix organisation; fascia mimetic; mechanical properties; pelvic organ prolapse