Electrospinning of gelatin fibers and gelatin/PCL composite fibrous scaffolds

Abstract

In this article, ultrafine gelatin (Gt) fibers were successfully produced with the use of the electrical spinning or electrospinning technique. A fluorinated alcohol of 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (TFE) was used as the dissolving solvent. The morphology of the electrospun gelatin fibers was found to be dependent on the alteration of gelatin concentration ranging from 2.5% w/v to 12.5% w/v at 2.5% increment intervals. Based on the electrospun gelatin fibers obtained, 10% w/v gelatin/TFE solution was selected and mixed with 10% w/v poly(⑀-caprolactone) (PCL) in TFE at a ratio of 50:50 and co-electrospun to produce gelatin/PCL composite membranes. Contact-angle measurement and tensile tests indicated that the gelatin/ PCL complex fibrous membrane exhibited improved mechanical properties as well as more favorable wettability than that obtained from either gelatin or PCL alone. The gelatin/PCL fibrous membranes were further investigated as a promising scaffold for bone-marrow stromal cell (BMSC) culture. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and laser confocal microscopy observations showed that the cells could not only favorably attach and grow well on the surface of these scaffolds, but were also able to migrate inside the scaffold up to 114 m within 1 week of culture. These results suggest the potential of using composite gelatin/PCL fibrous scaffolds for engineering three-dimensional tissues.

Three-dimensional electrospun ECM-based hybrid scaffolds for cardiovascular tissue engineering

“…In our experiments, no additional surface modifications were necessary facilitating cell attachment onto the fibers of the hybrid scaffolds and both electrospun collagen/elastin/PCL and gelatin/PCL supported attachment and proliferation of hASCs. Similar to our results, Zhang et al also reported improved migration when using gelatin/PCL fibrous scaffolds [15]. It is possible that the gradual degradation of PCL in the hybrid scaffold creates more space for cell migration and that gelatin, as a natural protein, provides binding sites for cellular attachment and proliferation.…”

“…In this study the crosslinked electrospun fibrous scaffolds showed a higher tensile strength; however, these scaffolds shrank, and their pore size as well as porosity decreased dramatically during the cross-linking process in glutaraldehyde vapor. Furthermore, a dense layer of fibers hindered cell migration, most likely due to the smaller pore size [15,46,47]. The combination of PCL10% with gelatin10% resulted in significantly higher tensile strength compared to gelatin or collagen and elastin alone and resulted in a uniform and pliant fiber mat.…”

“…This high porosity allows the efficient exchange of nutrients and metabolic waste between the scaffold and its environment, and provides a high surface area for local and sustained delivery of biochemical signals to the seeded cells [11][12][13][14][15][16]. On the other hand, the small pore size of reported electrospun scaffolds has thus far shown to be difficult for ingrowth and migration of seeded cells.…”

Electrospun PLGA Fibers Incorporated with Functionalized Biomolecules for Cardiac Tissue Engineering

“…Fibers fabricated by an electrically driven jet have been employed in various biomedical applications such as tissue engineered constructs and wound healing patches. 16 One of the advantages of ESFs is that a wide variety of macromolecules can be used for fabrication from biologically derived polymers such as gelatin, collagen, silk fibroin, chitosan, and cellulose [17][18][19][20][21] to synthetic polymers such as polyglycolide, poly (L-lactide) (PLLA), poly(e-caprolactone) (PCL), polyurethane, and poly(vinyl alcohol). 22 ESFs made of natural polymers usually possess inferior mechanical properties, while those made of synthetic polymers often lack suitable biological activities.…”

Manufacturing of Biodegradable Scaffolds to Engineer Artificial Blood Vessel

“…The vascular scaffold should be composed of a durable biomaterial capable of withstanding physiological hemodynamic forces while maintaining structural integrity until mature tissue forms in vivo (6). Electrospinning technology has been widely used for this purpose because this technique permits fabrication of nano-to microscale fibrous matrices and allows for control of the composition, structure, and biomechanical properties of scaffolds (8)(9)(10).…”