Single-incision thoracoscopic lobectomy and segmentectomy are feasible, and perioperative outcomes are comparable with those of the multiple-incision approach.

Deep or chronic skin wounds are difficult to heal spontaneously due to the lack of scaffold to guide cell growth and reduced levels and activities of endogenous growth factors. Emulsion electrospinning process integrated with DNA condensation techniques indicated potentials to gradually release DNA, but no attempt has been made to clarify the advantages in promoting tissue regeneration and wound recovery. In this study, polyplexes of basic fibroblast growth factor-encoding plasmid (pbFGF) with poly(ethylene imine) were incorporated into electrospun fibers with a core-sheath structure, and poly(ethylene glycol) was included into the fiber sheath to allow a sustained release of pbFGF for 4 weeks. In vitro tests on mouse embryo fibroblasts indicated that pbFGF-loaded fibrous mats enhanced cell proliferation by the autocrine bFGF, and an effective cell transfection proceeded for over 28 days. Skin wounds were created in the dorsal area of diabetic rats for in vivo evaluation of skin regeneration after being covered with pbFGF-loaded fibrous mats. The gradual pbFGF release revealed significantly higher wound recovery rate with improved vascularization, enhanced collagen deposition and maturation, complete re-epithelialization and formation of skin appendages. The above results demonstrate the potential use of pbFGF-loaded electrospun fibrous mats to accelerate the healing of skin ulcers for patients with diabetic mellitus.

Electrospun fibrous scaffolds have been extensively used as cell-supporting matrices or delivery vehicles for various biomolecules in tissue engineering. Biodegradable scaffolds with tunable degradation behaviors are favorable for various resorbable tissue replacements. In nerve tissue engineering, delivery of growth factors (GFs) such as nerve growth factor (NGF) and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) from scaffolds can be used to promote peripheral nerve repair. In this study, using the established dual-source dual-power electrospinning technique, bicomponent scaffolds incorporated with NGF and GDNF were designed and demonstrated as a strategy to develop scaffolds providing dual GF delivery. NGF and GDNF were encapsulated in poly(D, L-lactic acid) (PDLLA) and poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanofibers, respectively, via emulsion electrospinning. Bicomponent scaffolds with various mass ratios of GDNF/PLGA fibers to NGF/PDLLA fibers were fabricated. Their morphology, structure, properties, and the in vitro degradation were examined. Both types of core-shell structured fibers were evenly distributed in bicomponent scaffolds. Robust scaffolds with varying component ratios were fabricated with average fiber diameter ranging from 307 ± 100 nm to 688 ± 129 nm. The ultimate tensile stress and elastic modulus could be tuned ranging from 0.23 ± 0.07 MPa to 1.41 ± 0.23 MPa, 11.1 ± 3.0 MPa to 75.9 ± 3.3 MPa, respectively. Adjustable degradation was achieved and the weight loss of scaffolds ranged from 9.2% to 44.0% after 42 day degradation test. GDNF and NGF were incorporated with satisfactory encapsulation efficiency and their bioactivity were well preserved. Sustained release of both types of GFs was also achieved.