Abstract
Electrospun polymeric fibers are currently used as 3D models for in vitro applications in biomedical areas, i.e., tissue engineering, cell and drug delivery. The high customization of the electrospinning process offers numerous opportunities to manipulate and control surface area, fiber diameter, and fiber density to evaluate the response of cells under different morphological and/or biochemical stimuli. The aim of this study was to investigate—via atomic force microscopy (AFM)—the chemical and morphological changes in bi-component electrospun fibers (BEFs) during the in vitro degradation process using a biological medium. BEFs were fabricated by electrospinning a mixture of synthetic-polycaprolactone (PCL)-and natural polymers (gelatin) into a binary solution. During the hydrolytic degradation of protein, no significant remarkable effects were recognized in terms of fiber integrity. However, increases in surface roughness as well as a decrease in fiber diameter as a function of the degradation conditions were detected. We suggest that morphological and chemical changes due to the local release of gelatin positively influence cell behavior in culture, in terms of cell adhesion and spreading, thus working to mimic the native microenvironment of natural tissues.
Highlights
Recent advances in micro- and nano-manufacturing technologies offer the chance to design instructive scaffolds with a highly defined and controllable morphology, able to reproduce the microstructural organization of cells in native tissues [1]
bi-component electrospun fibers (BEFs) were cultured up to 9 days to study via atomic force microscopy (AFM) the effect of degradation of gelatin in aqueous medium on the morphology of proposed scaffolds
Electrospun fibers were directly collected on glass slides to investigate fiber morphology in a simulated in vitro culture
Summary
Recent advances in micro- and nano-manufacturing technologies offer the chance to design instructive scaffolds with a highly defined and controllable morphology, able to reproduce the microstructural organization of cells in native tissues [1]. Additional factors to be considered in the design of scaffolds are related to the porosity features, mainly deputed to address the release mechanisms of nutrients and growth factors, mandatory to properly trigger cell activities [4,5]. In this context, the biomaterial plays a key role and it has to be accurately selected depending upon the definite properties of tissues and their specific functions in vitro. Metal and ceramic implants have been widely used in the biomedical field, especially in the orthopedic field They have revealed two major drawbacks for applications in tissue engineering. They are not biodegradable, and secondly their workability is very limited
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