Co‐electrospun poly(lactide‐co‐glycolide), gelatin, and elastin blends for tissue engineering scaffolds

Abstract

In this study, we describe composite scaffolds composed of synthetic and natural materials with physicochemical properties suitable for tissue engineering applications. Fibrous scaffolds were co-electrospun from a blend of a synthetic biodegradable polymer (poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid), PLGA, 10% solution) and two natural proteins, gelatin (denatured collagen, 8% solution) and alpha-elastin (20% solution) at ratios of 3:1:2 and 2:2:2 (v/v/v). The resulting PLGA-gelatin-elastin (PGE) fibers were homogeneous in appearance with an average diameter of 380 +/- 80 nm, which was considerably smaller than fibers made under identical conditions from the starting materials (PLGA, 780 +/- 200 nm; gelatin, 447 +/- 123 nm; elastin, 1060 +/- 170 nm). Upon hydration, PGE fibers swelled to an average fiber diameter of 963 +/- 132 nm, but did not disintegrate. Importantly, PGE scaffolds were stable in an aqueous environment without crosslinking and were more elastic than those made of pure elastin fibers. To investigate the cytocompatibility of PGE, we cultured H9c2 rat cardiac myoblasts and rat bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) on fibrous PGE scaffolds. We found that myoblasts grew equally as well or slightly better on the scaffolds than on tissue-culture plastic. Microscopic evaluation confirmed that myoblasts reached confluence on the scaffold surfaces while simultaneously growing into the scaffolds. Histological characterization of the PGE constructs indicated that BMSCs penetrated into the center of scaffolds and began proliferating shortly after seeding. Our results suggest that fibrous scaffolds made of PGE and similar biomimetic blends of natural and synthetic polymers may be useful for engineering soft tissues, such as heart, lung, and blood vessels.

The Use of Natural Polymers in Tissue Engineering: A Focus on Electrospun Extracellular Matrix Analogues

“…In a similar study, PLGA, gelatin, and elastin were co-electrospun at 10%, 8%, and 20% (w/v) respectively into scaffolds and exhibited increased mechanical properties, with moduli of 122-254 MPa. These scaffolds also facilitated excellent cell proliferation, morphology and penetration of H9c2 rat cardiac myoblasts and neonatal rat bone marrow stromal cells demonstrating their ability to be used in cardiovascular tissue engineering applications [68].…”

Fibers for hearts: A critical review on electrospinning for cardiac tissue engineering

“…Co-electrospinning of PLGA with two natural proteins -gelatin and a-elastin -led to stable scaffolds in an aqueous environment without crosslinking, which were more elastic than those made of pure elastin fibers [88]. The PLGA-gelatin-elastin scaffold turned into stable fiberladen hydrogel in an aqueous medium, with suitable mechanical properties which were adjusted by the ratio of the components.…”

Coming to terms with tissue engineering and regenerative medicine in the lung

“…In addition to collagen, Matrigel (101,123,124) and other natural polymers (6) have been explored in both in vitro and in vivo studies. Synthetic polymers such as polyglycolic acid (175), polylactic-coglycolic acid (PLGA) (122), and pluronic F-127 are also considered of substantial interest in the context of lung scaffolds (35).…”