Superhydrophilic Polyurethane/Polydopamine Nanofibrous Materials Enhancing Cell Adhesion for Application in Tissue Engineering.

Kamil Kopeć,Michał Wojasiński,Tomasz Ciach

doi:10.3390/ijms21186798

Kamil Kopeć, Michał Wojasiński + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21186798

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Abstract

The use of nanofibrous materials in the field of tissue engineering requires a fast, efficient, scalable production method and excellent wettability of the obtained materials, leading to enhanced cell adhesion. We proposed the production method of superhydrophilic nanofibrous materials in a two-step process. The process is designed to increase the wettability of resulting scaffolds and to enhance the rate of fibroblast cell adhesion. Polyurethane (PU) nanofibrous material was produced in the solution blow spinning process. Then the PU fibers surface was modified by dopamine polymerization in water solution. Two variants of the modification were examined: dopamine polymerization under atmospheric oxygen (V-I) and using sodium periodate as an oxidative agent (V-II). Hydrophobic PU materials after the treatment became highly hydrophilic, regardless of the modification variant. This effect originates from polydopamine (PDA) coating properties and nanoscale surface structures. The modification improved the mechanical properties of the materials. Materials obtained in the V-II process exhibit superior properties over those from the V-I, and require shorter modification time (less than 30 min). Modifications significantly improved fibroblasts adhesion. The cells spread after 2 h on both PDA-modified PU nanofibrous materials, which was not observed for unmodified PU. Proposed technology could be beneficial in applications like scaffolds for tissue engineering.

Highlights

Unique properties of materials composed from submicron fibers, or so-called nanofibers, increased the scientific output in the subject, but we still struggle to transfer such materials into practical applications [1]
We present the two-step process for the efficient production of superhydrophilic nanofibrous materials from polyurethane, having an increased cell adhesion rate to their surface and improved mechanical properties
We proved that the material superhydrophilic properties persist for at least 28 days—crucial in the design of long-term of the shelf scaffolds for tissue engineering

Summary

Introduction

Unique properties of materials composed from submicron fibers, or so-called nanofibers, increased the scientific output in the subject, but we still struggle to transfer such materials into practical applications [1]. The solution blow spinning process is based on the electrospinning (and meltblowing—the most common industrial way of synthetic fibers production [16]), it is from two to one hundred times more efficient than electrospinning [17]. The main difference between electrospinning and solution blow spinning processes lies in the source of the driving force for fibers stretching. Since solution blow spinning generates a high driving force, the polymer solution feed rate can exceed the one typical for electrospinning by one or two orders of magnitude [17]. All of that makes the solution blow spinning the most efficient and scalable way of nano- and submicron fibers production in nozzle-based systems [15]

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