Fabrication, characterization, and in vitro evaluation of electrospun polyurethane‐gelatin‐carbon nanotube scaffolds for cardiovascular tissue engineering applications

Abstract

Myocardial infarction occurs because coronary arteries insufficiency is one of the major causes of mortality worldwide. Recent studies have shown that tissue engineering of myocardial tissue to regenerate infarcted tissue or engineering of the coronary artery may help overcome this problem. In the present research, gelatin and single-walled carbon nanotube were firstly administrated to physico-chemically and biologically modulate polyurethane nanofibers. Electrospinning, as versatile and effective technique for production of functional nanoscale fiber, was applied. Incorporation of both gelatin and SWNTs reduced mean diameter of nanofibrous scaffolds from 210 to 140 nm, which influenced on initial cell behavior. Possible interaction between gelatin and SWNTs with polyurethane chains was evaluated using FTIR and DSC techniques. Regarding the incorporation of both gelatin and SWNTs, it was found that hydrophilicity of nanofibrous scaffolds dramatically improved. Scaffold degradation profile was adjusted by incorporation of gelatin. Biomimetic mechanical properties of composite scaffolds like normal blood vessel were developed and SWNTs improved the Young modulus and ultimate strength of scaffolds up to 16.47 ± 0.5 and 23.73 ± 0.5 MPa, respectively. However, addition of gelatin increased elongation at break due to its softening effect. The incorporation of the SWNTs led to significant enhancement of electrical conductivity of the scaffolds. Biological evaluation using SEM and MTT assay demonstrated that nanofibrous surface was covered by confluent and dense layer of both myocardial myoblast and endothelial cells after 7 days of culture, which is crucial for cardiovascular tissue engineering. Results verified that the fabricated scaffolds could be effective for cardiovascular tissue engineering.

Electrospun Nanofibrous Membranes for Tissue Engineering and Cell Growth

“…Here again, a deep cellular infiltration into the nanofibrous scaffold was found, which would be impossible on the common flat surfaces, allowing for a larger number of attached cells per area. In addition, triple-blends including gelatin were tested for tissue engineering applications [76][77][78]. Reprinted from [66], with permission from Elsevier.…”

“…Besides these often reported applications for skin or bone tissue engineering, PU blends are also used for aortic valve or cardiovascular tissue engineering [78,124,125] and other applications.…”

Design and characterization of small-diameter tissue-engineered blood vessels constructed by electrospun polyurethane-core and gelatin-shell coaxial fiber

“…[ 42 ] It has also been reported that PU and Gel are simultaneously dissolved in the same solution for blending, which can promote the proliferation of endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells under certain mechanical properties. [ 43 ] Compelling evidence shows that the adhesion and proliferation of endothelial cells are increased proportionately with the gelatin content in scaffolds [ 44 ]. Although numerous studies have explored the artificial blood vessels with coaxial fibers of PCL-gelatin core-shell structure, the mechanical properties of such vessels are insufficient [ 26 , 30 , 45 ].…”

Utilization of Carbon Nanotubes in Manufacturing of 3D Cartilage and Bone Scaffolds

“…It resulted in a more porous structure, however, with limited control over spatial arrangement [ 115 ]. There are several papers where CNTs are used in a composite material with PCL [ 116 , 117 ] and polyurethane [ 118 , 119 ].…”