Influence of the Fabrication Accuracy of Hot-Embossed PCL Scaffolds on Cell Growths.

Tania Limongi,Bernadette Scopacasa,Maria Eugenia Gallo Cantafio,Pierosandro Tagliaferri,Costantino Davide Critello,Salvatore Andrea Pullano,Gerardo Perozziello,Cirino Botta,Maria Laura Coluccio,Enzo Di Fabrizio,Ernesto Lamanna,Elisabetta Dattola,Antonino S Fiorillo,Patrizio Candeloro,Pierfrancesco Tassone,Maria Cucè

doi:10.3389/fbioe.2020.00084

Abstract

Polycaprolactone (PCL) is a biocompatible and biodegradable polymer widely used for the realization of 3D scaffold for tissue engineering applications. The hot embossing technique (HE) allows the obtainment of PCL scaffolds with a regular array of micro pillars on their surface. The main drawback affecting this kind of micro fabrication process is that such structural superficial details can be damaged when detaching the replica from the mold. Therefore, the present study has focused on the optimization of the HE processes through the development of an analytical model for the prediction of the demolding force as a function of temperature. This model allowed calculating the minimum demolding force to obtain regular micropillars without defects. We demonstrated that the results obtained by the analytical model agree with the experimental data. To address the importance of controlling accurately the fabricated microstructures, we seeded on the PCL scaffolds human stromal cell line (HS-5) and monocytic leukemia cell line (THP-1) to evaluate how the presence of regular or deformed pillars affect cells viability. In vitro viability results, scanning electron and fluorescence microscope imaging analysis show that the HS-5 preferentially grows on regular microstructured surfaces, while the THP-1 on irregular microstructured ones.

Highlights

The recent progress in the field of micro- and nanotechnologies (Perozziello et al, 2014, 2015) along with latest cells culture techniques (Perozziello et al, 2012) have allowed the development of engineered materials and devices that can be used to monitor aspects of human health improving medical diagnosis and therapy
The comparison between the experimentally measured demolding force and that resulting from the calculation with the analytical model are shown in the left panel of Figure 3 as a function of the demolding temperature
The model allowed calculating the proper value of demolding temperature by which we obtained a value of demolding force correspondent to tensions lower than the material strength

Summary

Introduction

The recent progress in the field of micro- and nanotechnologies (Perozziello et al, 2014, 2015) along with latest cells culture techniques (Perozziello et al, 2012) have allowed the development of engineered materials and devices that can be used to monitor aspects of human health improving medical diagnosis and therapy. These novel materials characterized by micro- and nano- structured textures represent new solutions for satisfying the wide range of needs arising from the diagnosis. Several PCL nanofibres have been successfully loaded with 20(S)protopanaxadiol, doxorubicin and other active molecules for both in vitro and in vivo anti-tumor activity applications (Cabeza et al, 2017; Liu et al, 2018)

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