Wet-electrospinning of nanofibrous magnetic composite 3-D scaffolds for enhanced stem cells neural differentiation

Abstract

Electrospinning, as an interestingly popular method, generates fibrous scaffolds and mimics extracellular matrices. Low cellular penetration between fibers of electrospun scaffolds due to the high packing density and small interfibrillar pore size is a big challenge. This study represents a facile and versatile strategy for preparing a three-dimensional (3D) polycaprolactone (PCL)/gelatin/iron oxide nanofibrous scaffold using a magnetically assisted wet-electrospinning process. In this method, a non-contact magnetic force with various intensities (0, 250, 300, 350, and 500 mT) is utilized to assemble fibers so that the interconnectivity and mechanical integrity of the 3D scaffolds are preserved. The morphology of magnetic constructs, as well as pore structure, is verified by scanning electron microscopy. Both wet-electrospun 350 mT and 500 mT scaffolds show good mechanical stability, biodegradability, optimal porosity, and high phosphate buffer solution (PBS) absorption. The results of cell culture studies further reveal that wet-electrospun 350 mT scaffolds exhibit higher cell proliferation, attachment and infiltration than 500 mT scaffolds. Moreover, wet-electrospun 350 mT scaffolds accelerate neural differentiation of olfactory ecto-mesenchymal stem cells (OE-MSCs). These results show that the wet- electrospun 3D nanofibrous scaffold fabricated under an external magnetic field with desirable shape and tunable density can be readily fabricated for neural tissue engineering applications.