An Elastomeric Patch Electrospun from a Blended Solution of Dermal Extracellular Matrix and Biodegradable Polyurethane for Rat Abdominal Wall Repair

Abstract

A biodegradable elastomeric scaffold was created by electrospinning a mixed solution of poly(ester urethane)urea (PEUU) and porcine dermal extracellular matrix (dECM) digest, with PEUU included to provide elasticity, flexibility, and mechanical support and dECM used to enhance bioactivity and biocompatibility. Micrographs and differential scanning calorimetry demonstrated partial miscibility between PEUU and dECM. With greater dECM content, scaffolds were found to possess lower breaking strains and suture retention strength, although initial modulus was greater with higher dECM concentrations. The hybrid scaffolds containing 0% to 50% dECM had tensile strengths of 5 to 7 MPa, breaking strains of 138% to 611%, initial moduli of 3 to 11 Mpa, and suture retention strengths of 35 to 59 MPa. When hydrated, scaffolds were found to contract markedly with 50% dECM content. When used in a rat full-thickness abdominal wall replacement model, no herniation, infection, or tissue adhesion was observed after 4 and 8 weeks with a scaffold containing 25% dECM or a control 100% PEUU scaffold. Scaffolds incorporating dECM were significantly thicker at the time of explant, with greater numbers of associated smooth muscle actin-positive staining cells than in the control, but minimal cellular infiltration and remodeling of the scaffold were detected regardless of dECM addition. The processing of dECM and PEUU from a mixed solution thus provided a scaffold with evidence of better bioactivity and with mechanical properties not achievable with digested dECM alone.

Electrospun biodegradable elastic polyurethane scaffolds with dipyridamole release for small diameter vascular grafts

“…Biofunctional and bioactive agents are capable of being incorporated with polyurethane urea through chemistry and engineering approaches [12,34–36]. Its good biocompatibility has been verified from in vitro cell culture and in vivo implantation [24,37–39]. PU-based scaffolds have been used to replace various tissues, such as blood vessels, myocardium, abdominal wall and bone [8,37,38,40,41].…”

Biomaterials based strategies for skeletal muscle tissue engineering: Existing technologies and future trends

“…Although electrospun fibers impact cell behavior via contact guidance, in most cases cells are unable to infiltrate the fiber mesh due to close packing density of the fibers and limited thickness of electrospun constructs (few millimeters), which limits the application of such constructs to just patches [153]. The treatment of large trauma models with biomaterial constructs often requires three-dimensional scaffolds that can fill structural voids in the injured tissue.…”

Decellularized extracellular matrices for tissue engineering applications

“…To improve the elasticity and mechanical characteristic of DECM scaffolds, porcine dermal ECM was combined with poly(ester urethane) urea (PEUU) in varying ratios (15:85, 25:75, 50:50, 0:100) to create composite scaffolds using electrospinning. Increasing concentrations of DECM reduced the mechanical strength of the composite scaffolds [57]. The scaffolds containing 25% DECM and 100% PEUU (control) were used in a rat full thickness abdominal wall replacement model.…”