title: Hybrid Randomly Electrospun Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid):Poly(ethylene oxide) (PLGA:PEO) Fibrous Scaffolds Enhancing Myoblast Differentiation and Alignment.
abstract: Cellular responses are regulated by their microenvironments, and engineered synthetic scaffolds can offer control over different microenvironment properties. This important relationship can be used as a tool to manipulate cell fate and cell responses for different biomedical applications. We show for the first time in this study how blending of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) to poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) fibers to yield hybrid scaffolds changes the physical and mechanical properties of PLGA fibrous scaffolds and in turn affects cellular response. For this purpose we employed electrospinning to create fibrous scaffolds mimicking the basic structural properties of the native extracellular matrix. We introduced PEO to PLGA electrospun fibers by spinning a blend of PLGA:PEO polymer solutions in different ratios. PEO served as a sacrificial component within the fibers upon hydration, leading to pore formation in the fibers, fiber twisting, increased scaffold disintegration, and hydrophilicity, decreased Young's modulus, and significantly improved strain at break of initially electrospun scaffolds. We observed that the blended PLGA:PEO fibrous scaffolds supported myoblast adhesion and proliferation and resulted in increased myotube formation and self-alignment, when compared to PLGA-only scaffolds, even though the scaffolds were randomly oriented. The 50:50 PLGA:PEO blended scaffold showed the most promising results in terms of mechanical properties, myotube formation, and alignment, suggesting an optimal microenvironment for myoblast differentiation from the PLGA:PEO blends tested. The explored approach for tuning fiber properties can easily extend to other polymeric scaffolds and provides a valuable tool to engineer fibrillar microenvironments for several biomedical applications.
authors.affiliation: Division of Plastic Surgery and Hand Surgery, University Hospital Zürich , Sternwartstrasse 14, 8091 Zürich, Switzerland.|Laboratory for Tissue Engineering and Stem Cell Therapy, Department of Urology and Zürich Center for Integrative Human Physiology (ZIHP), University of Zürich, University Hospital Zürich , Frauenklinikstrasse 10, 8091 Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Olivera
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Evrova
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Applied Mechanobiology, ETH Zürich , Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 1-5/10, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Vahid
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Hosseini
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Cell and Tissue Engineering, Department of Obstetrics, University Hospital Zürich , Schmelzbergstrasse 12/PF 125, 8091 Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Milleret
authors.affiliation: Cartilage Engineering and Regeneration, ETH Zürich , Otto-Stern-Weg 7, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Gemma
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Palazzolo
authors.affiliation: Cartilage Engineering and Regeneration, ETH Zürich , Otto-Stern-Weg 7, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Marcy
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zenobi-Wong
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Tissue Engineering and Stem Cell Therapy, Department of Urology and Zürich Center for Integrative Human Physiology (ZIHP), University of Zürich, University Hospital Zürich , Frauenklinikstrasse 10, 8091 Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Tullio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sulser
authors.affiliation: Division of Plastic Surgery and Hand Surgery, University Hospital Zürich , Sternwartstrasse 14, 8091 Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Johanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Buschmann
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Tissue Engineering and Stem Cell Therapy, Department of Urology and Zürich Center for Integrative Human Physiology (ZIHP), University of Zürich, University Hospital Zürich , Frauenklinikstrasse 10, 8091 Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Eberli
mesh_terms: D002454:Cell Differentiation; D005027:Ethylene Oxide; D019344:Lactic Acid; D032446:Myoblasts; D011100:Polyglycolic Acid; D000077182:Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds
chemical_list: D000077182:Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer; D011100:Polyglycolic Acid; D019344:Lactic Acid; D005027:Ethylene Oxide
keywords: PEO; PLGA; electrospinning; hybrid scaffolds; muscle tissue engineering; myoblast differentiation