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Electrospinning has recently received much attention in biomedical applications, and has shown great potential as a novel scaffold fabrication method for tissue engineering. The nano scale diameter of the fibers produced and the structure of the web resemble certain supramolecular features of extracellular matrix which is favorable for cell attachment, growth and proliferation. There are various parameters that can alter the electrospinning process, and varying one or more of these conditions will result in producing different nanofibrous webs. So the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of material variables and process variables on the morphology of electrospun 50:50 poly(L-lactide-co-epsilon-caprolactone) (PLCL) nanofibrous structures. The morphology of the nanofibers produced was strongly influenced by parameters such as the flow rate of the polymer solution, the electrospinning voltage and the solution concentration. The diameter was found to increase with solution concentration in a direct linear relationship. Finally, it has been successfully demonstrated that by increasing the rotation speed of the collector mandrel, the alignment of the fibers can be controlled in a preferred direction. These findings contribute to determining the functional conditions to electrospin this biodegradable elastomeric copolymer which has potential as a scaffold material for vascular tissue engineering.

Human adipose-derived stem cells (hASCs) are an abundant cell source capable of osteogenic differentiation, and have been investigated as an autologous stem cell source for bone tissue engineering applications. The objective of this study was to determine if the addition of a type-I collagen sheath to the surface of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) nanofibers would enhance viability, proliferation and osteogenesis of hASCs. This is the first study to examine the differentiation behavior of hASCs on collagen-PCL sheath-core bicomponent nanofiber scaffolds developed using a co-axial electrospinning technique. The use of a sheath-core configuration ensured a uniform coating of collagen on the PCL nanofibers. PCL nanofiber scaffolds prepared using a conventional electrospinning technique served as controls. hASCs were seeded at a density of 20 000 cells/cm(2) on 1 cm(2) electrospun nanofiber (pure PCL or collagen-PCL sheath-core) sheets. Confocal microscopy and hASC proliferation data confirmed the presence of viable cells after 2 weeks in culture on all scaffolds. Greater cell spreading occurred on bicomponent collagen-PCL scaffolds at earlier time points. hASCs were osteogenically differentiated by addition of soluble osteogenic inductive factors. Calcium quantification indicated cell-mediated calcium accretion was approx. 5-times higher on bicomponent collagen-PCL sheath-core scaffolds compared to PCL controls, indicating collagen-PCL bicomponent scaffolds promoted greater hASC osteogenesis after two weeks of culture in osteogenic medium. This is the first study to examine the effects of collagen-PCL sheath-core composite nanofibers on hASC viability, proliferation and osteogenesis. The sheath-core composite fibers significantly increased calcium accretion of hASCs, indicating that collagen-PCL sheath-core bicomponent structures have potential for bone tissue engineering applications using hASCs.