title: Bimodal fibrous structures for tissue engineering: Fabrication, characterization and in vitro biocompatibility.
abstract: We report for the first time a polycaprolactone-human serum albumin (PCL-HSA) membrane with bimodal structures comprised of spider-web-like nano-nets and conventional fibers via facile electro-spinning/netting (ESN) technique. Such unique controllable morphology was developed by electrospinning the blend solution of PCL (8wt% in HFIP 1,1,1,3,3,3,-Hexafluoro-2-propanol) and HSA (10wt% deionized water). The phase separation during electrospinning caused the formation of bimodal structure. Various processing factors such as applied voltage, feeding rate, and distance between nozzle tip and collector were found responsible for the formation and distribution of the nano-nets throughout the nanofibrous mesh. Field emission electron microscopy (FE-SEM) confirmed that the nano-nets were composed of interlinked nanowires with an ultrathin diameter (10-30nm). When compared with a pure PCL membrane, the membrane containing nano-nets was shown to have better support for cellular activities as determined by cell viability and attachment assays. These results revealed that the blending of albumin, a hydrophilic biomolecule, with PCL, a hydrophobic polymer, proves to be an outstanding approach to developing membranes with controlled spider-web-like nano-nets for tissue engineering.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bionanosystem Engineering, Graduate School, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju 561-756, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Arjun Prasad
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Tiwari
authors.affiliation: Department of Bionanosystem Engineering, Graduate School, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju 561-756, Republic of Korea; Department of Chemistry, Tri-Chandra Multiple Campus, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal.
authors.forename: Mahesh Kumar
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Joshi
authors.affiliation: Department of Bionanosystem Engineering, Graduate School, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju 561-756, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jeong In
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Bionanosystem Engineering, Graduate School, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju 561-756, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Afeesh Rajan
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Unnithan
authors.affiliation: Department of Bionanosystem Engineering, Graduate School, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju 561-756, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Joshua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Bionanosystem Engineering, Graduate School, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju 561-756, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: biochan@jbnu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Chan Hee
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Bionanosystem Engineering, Graduate School, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju 561-756, Republic of Korea; Division of Mechanical Design Engineering, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju 561-756, Republic of Korea; Eco-friendly Machine Parts Design Research Center, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju 561-756, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: chskim@jbnu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Cheol Sang
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D002460:Cell Line; D002470:Cell Survival; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D010316:Particle Size; D011091:Polyesters / Q000737:chemistry*; D012709:Serum Albumin / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties; D023822:Tissue Engineering
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D011091:Polyesters; D012709:Serum Albumin; C016240:polycaprolactone
keywords: Electro-spinning/netting; Human serum albumin; Polycaprolactone