Physical-chemical Properties and in vitro Biocompatibility Assessment of Spider Silk, Collagen and Polyurethane Nanofiber Scaffolds for Vascular Tissue Engineering

Abstract

In this study, three kinds of nanofiber scaffolds including spider silks (SS), collagen, and polyurethane (PU) were fabricated by electrospinning technique. Their physical-chemical properties such as surface hydrophilicity, water stability, and porosity were investigated by water contact angle (CA) measurement, stabilization assay and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Results showed that SS scaffolds had stronger hydrophobic surface, superior water-stability and higher porosity than other scaffolds. Furthermore, their in vitro biocompatibility including cell attachment, spreading, and proliferation were evaluated and compared by using porcine aorta endothelium cells (PIECs). The MTT results showed that the cell proliferation on SS nanofibers was significantly higher than that on collagen and PU scaffoldss, the SEM images demonstrated that the PIECs can migrate into SS nanofibers and maintain a spreading shape, and the RT-PCR results also indicated the SS nanofiber scaffolds promote better cell growth and proliferation. Thus, these results strongly suggest the potential application of SS nanofibers as vascular engineering scaffolds.