Fabrication of Nerve Growth Factor Encapsulated Aligned Poly(ε-Caprolactone) Nanofibers and Their Assessment as a Potential Neural Tissue Engineering Scaffold.

Jue Hu,Xin Ding,Seeram Ramakrishna,Molamma Prabhakaran,Lingling Tian

doi:10.3390/polym8020054

Jue Hu, Xin Ding + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/polym8020054

Copy DOI

Abstract

Peripheral nerve injury is a serious clinical problem to be solved. There has been no breakthrough so far and neural tissue engineering offers a promising approach to promote the regeneration of peripheral neural injuries. In this study, emulsion electrospinning technique was introduced as a flexible and promising technique for the fabrication of random (R) and aligned (A) Poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL)-Nerve Growth Factor (NGF)&Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) nanofibrous scaffolds [(R/A)-PCL-NGF&BSA], where NGF and BSA were encapsulated in the core while PCL form the shell. Random and aligned pure PCL, PCL-BSA, and PCL-NGF nanofibers were also produced for comparison. The scaffolds were characterized by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) and water contact angle test. Release study showed that, with the addition of stabilizer BSA, a sustained release of NGF from emulsion electrospun PCL nanofibers was observed over 28 days. [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium, inner salt; MTS] assay revealed that (R/A)-PCL-NGF and (R/A)-PCL-NGF&BSA scaffolds favored cell growth and showed no cytotoxicity to PC12 cells. Laser scanning confocal microscope images exhibited that the A-PCL-NGF&BSA scaffold increased the length of neurites and directed neurites extension along the fiber axis, indicating that the A-PCL-NGF&BSA scaffold has a potential for guiding nerve tissue growth and promoting nerve regeneration.

Highlights

The incidence of peripheral nerve injury has a significant upward trend with the increasing of the mechanization degree in industrial production and the development of transportation
We investigated the synergistic effect of topographic cue and the Nerve Growth Factor (NGF)-trigger on the neurite outgrowth of PC12 cells and explored the potential application of the (R/A)-PCL-NGF&Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) nanofibrous scaffolds as superior carriers in neural tissue engineering
For the emulsion electrospinning of random nanofibers, 8% (w/v) PCL was added to CHCl3 as the oil phase, while 9% (w/v) PCL was used for the preparation of aligned nanofibers

Summary

Introduction

The incidence of peripheral nerve injury has a significant upward trend with the increasing of the mechanization degree in industrial production and the development of transportation. Nerve defects caused by nerve injury are a difficult problem in clinical treatment. Nerve autograft is the best way of repair large peripheral nerve. Due to the limited resource of autografts and the inevitable sensory loss of the donor area after donor nerve graft, it is difficult to meet the increasing requirement for peripheral nerve defect repair. To overcome the shortages of autologous nerve grafts, the development of biomaterial scaffolds for nerve regeneration and the recovery of neural function are imperative. Many researchers have tried to develop more effective biomaterials to create an alternative to the autograft and promote nerve regeneration [2]

Methods

Results

Conclusion