Electrospun Polycaprolactone/Silk Fibroin/Small Intestine Submucosa Composites for Biomedical Applications

Abstract

Natural biomaterials were used to improve the biocompatibility of synthetic biopolymers. PCL was electrospun with natural biopolymers, silk fibroin, and small intestine submucosa. Due to increased electrical conductivity, the diameter of the composite fibers highly depended on the amount of SIS in the polymer solution. PCL/SF/SIS electrospun composites exhibited various synergistic effects, including enhanced mechanical properties and incredibly improved hydrophilicity compared to those of pure PCL and PCL/SF fibers. An initial cell attachment test demonstrated that the interactions between PC‐12 nerve cells and the PCL/SF/SIS composites were more favorable than those between PC‐12 cells and a PCL/SF composite.magnified image

Extracellular Matrix‐Based Biohybrid Materials for Engineering Compliant, Matrix‐Dense Tissues

“…The thinly sprayed woven fibers can resemble specific components of ECM through intentional size‐control by altering composition and deposition parameters. As shown by Hong et al, among others, increasing the concentration of the SIS powder in the PCL/silk fibroin solution resulted in a diameter reduction of the fibers due to increased electrical conductivity . The increased electrical conductivity appeared to improve the size uniformity as well, compared to that of pure PCL fibers .…”

“…As shown by Hong et al, among others, increasing the concentration of the SIS powder in the PCL/silk fibroin solution resulted in a diameter reduction of the fibers due to increased electrical conductivity . The increased electrical conductivity appeared to improve the size uniformity as well, compared to that of pure PCL fibers . Results from incorporating human‐like collagen/chitosan blend to PCL agree; Zhu et al found the electrospun collagen/chitosan/PCL had a more biomimetic structure than pure PLA, as the fiber diameters approached the size of the extracellular matrix …”

“…In a study by Hong et al, porcine small intestine mucosa (SIS) powder was blended with PCL before it was co‐electrospun with silk fibroin. This method of incorporation improved hydrophilicity of the polymer, and effectively incorporated the biological component . Other successful applications that rely solely on electrospinning include a blend of poly(vinyl alcohol), (PVA), with type I collagen into a single fiber constituent, and a blend solution of PLGA, gelatin and elastin that was electrospun into vascular grafts …”

“…As such, maximum mechanical strength of the composite can be attributed to the choice of polymer component and configuration. In some cases, the nature of the polymer phase can be altered by incorporation of biological or other components . A table comparing mechanical strength of scaffolds fabricated using the woven fibers methods, as well as other methods, is shown in Table 2 .…”

“…Similarly, by increasing the SIS concentration in the PCL/SF/SIS polymer blend, a high level of initial cell attachment was achieved. The result of incorporating the ECM‐based material SIS was compared to plain PCL/SF fibers, which showed a low level of initial cell attachment compared to that of even the pure PCL fibers …”