Coaxial Electrospun PLLA Fibers Modified with Water-Soluble Materials for Oligodendrocyte Myelination

Abstract

Myelin sheaths are essential in maintaining the integrity of axons. Development of the platform for in vitro myelination would be especially useful for demyelinating disease modeling and drug screening. In this study, a fiber scaffold with a core–shell structure was prepared in one step by the coaxial electrospinning method. A high-molecular-weight polymer poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) was used as the core, while the shell was a natural polymer material such as hyaluronic acid (HA), sodium alginate (SA), or chitosan (CS). The morphology, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR), contact angle, viability assay, and in vitro myelination by oligodendrocytes were characterized. The results showed that such fibers are bead-free and continuous, with an average size from 294 ± 53 to 390 ± 54 nm. The DSC and FTIR curves indicated no changes in the phase state of coaxial brackets. Hyaluronic acid/PLLA coaxial fibers had the minimum contact angle (53.1° ± 0.24°). Myelin sheaths were wrapped around a coaxial electrospun scaffold modified with water-soluble materials after a 14-day incubation. All results suggest that such a scaffold prepared by coaxial electrospinning potentially provides a novel platform for oligodendrocyte myelination.

Precision 3D printed meniscus scaffolds to facilitate hMSCs proliferation and chondrogenic differentiation for tissue regeneration

“…When treated with fibronectin solution, more water was absorbed into the scaffolds, which facilitated the sitting of the scaffolds on the plate bottom for cell seeding. In addition, water-soluble matrix or absorbent material was reported to promote cell proliferation and differentiation [ 53 , 54 ]. Therefore, a polymer scaffold designed in porous structure bears its superiority for tissue regeneration from this point of view.…”