Electrospun Scaffolds for Osteoblast Cells: Peptide-Induced Concentration-Dependent Improvements of Polycaprolactone

Abstract

The design of hybrid poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL)-self-assembling peptides (SAPs) matrices represents a simple method for the surface functionalization of synthetic scaffolds, which is essential for cell compatibility. This study investigates the influence of increasing concentrations (2.5%, 5%, 10% and 15% w/w SAP compared to PCL) of three different SAPs on the physico-chemical/mechanical and biological properties of PCL fibers. We demonstrated that physico-chemical surface characteristics were slightly improved at increasing SAP concentrations: the fiber diameter increased; surface wettability increased with the first SAP addition (2.5%) and slightly less for the following ones; SAP-surface density increased but no change in the conformation was registered. These results could allow engineering matrices with structural characteristics and desired wettability according to the needs and the cell system used. The biological and mechanical characteristics of these scaffolds showed a particular trend at increasing SAP concentrations suggesting a prevailing correlation between cell behavior and mechanical features of the matrices. As compared with bare PCL, SAP enrichment increased the number of metabolic active h-osteoblast cells, fostered the expression of specific osteoblast-related mRNA transcripts, and guided calcium deposition, revealing the potential application of PCL-SAP scaffolds for the maintenance of osteoblast phenotype.

Self-assembling peptide hydrogels immobilized on silicon surfaces

“…The synthesis of EAbuK (H-Abu-E-Abu-E-Abu-K-Abu-K-Abu-E-Abu-E-Abu-K-Abu-K-NH 2 ) was carried out on 0.72 mmol/g Rink Amide MBHA resin using Fmoc chemistry by a Syro I synthesizer [18] The side chain protecting groups were: OtBu, Glu and Boc, Lys. The loading of the first amino acid was carried out with a double coupling.…”

The effect of ozone gas sterilization on the properties and cell compatibility of electrospun polycaprolactone scaffolds

“…The technique allows for flexibility in the physicochemical and morphological characteristics of the scaffold, with adaptations including the generation of multilayer sheets, solid, hollow or coaxial fibres, and cylindrical or ribbon like shapes, with various diameters and pore sizes in addition to simple, single layer sheets [2,3]. In addition, hybrid scaffolds and tissues can be generated by combining electrospinning with other fabrication techniques such as bioextrusion and 3D printing [4,5], while blending polymers with adhesive biomolecules such as peptides or proteins can achieve enhanced cell compatibility [6][7][8][9]. Among the different polymers used in electrospun tissue engineering scaffolds, polycaprolactone (PCL) is one of the most commonly used.…”

Mechanical stimulation improves osteogenesis and the mechanical properties of osteoblast‐laden RGD‐functionalized polycaprolactone/hydroxyapatite scaffolds

“…, polylactic acid (PLA) (Wurm et al, 2017), and polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) (Li et al, 2013) have also been investigated due to their superior processability, good mechanical and controllable degradation properties (Dettin et al, 2015;Drevelle et al, 2010;Li et al, 2013;Wurm et al, 2017;Zamani et al, 2018;. Synthetic polymer scaffolds have also been combined with osteoconductive ceramics, such as hydroxyapatite (HA), into PCL/HA (Kim et al, 2017;Zhang et al, 2014), PLA/HA (Zhang et al, 2017), and PLGA/HA (Li et al, 2013) scaffolds to improve their bioactive and mechanical properties for bone regeneration (Kim et al, 2017;Li et al, 2013;Zhang et al, 2014).…”