Janus orthogonal nanofiber membrane containing CPP@PDA for skull base reconstruction

Abstract

In neurosurgery procedures, cerebrospinal fluid leakage is a commonly encountered complication. Reconstructing skull base defects with patch materials can reduce the risk of cerebrospinal fluid leakage which can lead to serious issues such as infection, meningitis, arachnoiditis, and delayed wound healing. An ideal skull base reconstruction material should not only serve as a leak-proof barrier but also promote skull base bone regeneration. To fulfill this challenge, this research designed and fabricated a Janus orthogonal bilayer nanofiber membrane (OPCL/PG-PCPP). The aligned PCL (APCL) nanofibers were constituted as the top layer to resist cerebrospinal fluid leakage, while the perpendicular PCL/gelatin (APG) fibers with calcium polyphosphate encapsulated polydopamine nanoparticles (CPP@PDA, labeled as PCPP) were designed as the bottom layer (APG-PCPP) to facilitate osteoblast migration and osteogenic differentiation. Among these, APG-1%PCPP nanofibers demonstrated the most effective induction of osteogenic differentiation in bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (rBMSCs). Subsequent in vivo animal experiments revealed that the bone surface area (BS), bone volume fraction (BV/TV), and number of trabeculae (Tb.N) in the APG-1%PCPP group were twice as high as those in the control group, which confirmed the good osteogenic potentials. Therefore, due to its unique leak-proof and osteoinductive properties, the OPCL/PG-PCPP membrane holds promise as an applicable skull base reconstruction material in the field of neurosurgery.