Single-step, acid-based fabrication of homogeneous gelatin-polycaprolactone fibrillar scaffolds intended for skin tissue engineering

Abstract

Blends of natural and synthetic polymers have recently attracted great attention as scaffolds for tissue engineering applications due to their favorable biological and mechanical properties. Nevertheless, phase-separation of blend components is an important challenge facing the development of electrospun homogeneous fibrillar natural-synthetic polymers scaffolds; phase-separation can produce significant detrimental effects for scaffolds fabricated by electrospinning. In the present study, blends of gelatin (Gel; natural polymer) and polycaprolactone (PCL; synthetic polymer), containing 30 and 45 wt% Gel, were prepared using acetic acid as a ‘green’ sole solvent to straightforwardly produce appropriate single-step Gel-PCL solutions for electrospinning. Miscibility of Gel and PCL in the scaffolds was assessed and the morphology, chemical composition and structural and solid-state properties of the scaffolds were thoroughly investigated. Results showed that the two polymers proved miscible under the single-step solution process used and that the electrospun scaffolds presented suitable properties for potential skin tissue engineering applications. Viability, metabolic activity and protein expression of human fibroblasts cultured on the Gel-PCL scaffolds were evaluated using LIVE/DEAD (calcein/ethidium homodimer), MTT-Formazan and immunocytochemistry assays, respectively. In vitro results showed that the electrospun Gel-PCL scaffolds enhanced cell viability and proliferation in comparison to PCL scaffolds. Furthermore, scaffolds allowed fibroblasts expression of extracellular matrix proteins, tropoelastin and collagen Type I, in a similar way to positive controls. Results indicated the feasibility of the single-step solution process used herein to obtain homogeneous electrospun Gel-PCL scaffolds with Gel content ≥30 wt% and potential properties to be used as scaffolds for skin tissue engineering applications for wound healing.

Antibacterial composite membranes of polycaprolactone/gelatin loaded with zinc oxide nanoparticles for guided tissue regeneration

“…In the current study, fibrillar membranes of PCL and Gel loaded with different amounts of ZnO-NPs were fabricated by the electrospinning technique using AcAc. Worth mentioning that AcAc is considered a "green" solvent, since it is less toxic than other solvents, such as hexafluoro-2-propanol (HFP) or trifluoroethanol (TFE), frequently used for miscible Gel-PCL electrospinning solutions [32,43]. As a consequence of the synthesis conditions, hydrogen bonds between PCL and Gel were exhibited by the FTIR, this hydrogen bonding influenced the A c c e p t e d M a n u s c r i p t structural and mechanical properties of the membranes.…”

Electrospun Polyvinylpyrrolidone-Gelatin and Cellulose Acetate Bi-Layer Scaffold Loaded with Gentamicin as Possible Wound Dressing

“…In the case of the CA layer, the resulting contact angle suggests hydrophobic characteristics [ 32 ]. The scaffold physical properties could assist in cell migration and differentiation [ 33 ], according to previously reported results where the lower the contact angle of the material, the greater the hydrophilicity and the higher the biocompatibility [ 34 ]. Considering these results, the potential application of this material as a dressing for wounds exists, given that the layer that would be in direct contact with the tissue would be the PG+gen and the CA layer could fulfill the role as physical barrier to avoid colonization by microorganisms [ 35 ].…”

Proteins and Peptides as Important Modifiers of the Polymer Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering Applications—A Review

“…Moreover, the authors indicated that surface of PLGA/collagen/graphene oxide scaffold was more beneficial for skeletal myoblast adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation in comparison with surface of PLGA/graphene oxide biomaterial. In turn, Prado-Prone et al [163] proved that contact angle decreased, when the content of gelatin in PCL scaffold increased. Thus, the contact angles of PCL, PCL/30 wt.% gelatin, and PCL/45 wt.% gelatin biomaterials were approximately 127 • , 65 • , and 25 • , respectively.…”

“…Moreover, unlike hydrophobic surfaces, the hydrophilic ones maintain proper conformation of adsorbed proteins, which promotes cell adhesion and proliferation [21,138,158,167,168]. Unfortunately, the above-mentioned papers [140,[160][161][162][163][164][165][166] do not present experiments that evaluate biomaterial ability to adsorb proteins from surrounding liquids. In turn, Lü et al [169] fabricated chitosan/collagen film and demonstrated that its surface was more hydrophilic (θ = 64 • ) compared to surface of chitosan biomaterial (θ = 86 • ).…”

“…It was justified, because gelatin alone possessed significantly higher ability to absorb PBS compared to chitosan and chitosan/gelatin scaffolds. In turn, Prado-Prone et al [163] fabricated PCL/gelatin scaffolds and demonstrated that addition of higher amount of gelatin to polymer scaffold resulted in faster degradation. After three-day incubation in PBS, the mass loss of PCL alone, 70 wt.% PCL/30 wt.% gelatin, and 55 wt.% PCL/45 wt.% gelatin was close to 4%, 26%, and 43%, respectively.…”