Smart ECM-Based Electrospun Biomaterials for Skeletal Muscle Regeneration

Abstract

The development of smart and intelligent regenerative biomaterials for skeletal muscle tissue engineering is an ongoing challenge, owing to the requirement of achieving biomimetic systems able to communicate biological signals and thus promote optimal tissue regeneration. Electrospinning is a well-known technique to produce fibers that mimic the three dimensional microstructural arrangements, down to nanoscale and the properties of the extracellular matrix fibers. Natural and synthetic polymers are used in the electrospinning process; moreover, a blend of them provides composite materials that have demonstrated the potential advantage of supporting cell function and adhesion. Recently, the decellularized extracellular matrix (dECM), which is the noncellular component of tissue that retains relevant biological cues for cells, has been evaluated as a starting biomaterial to realize composite electrospun constructs. The properties of the electrospun systems can be further improved with innovative procedures of functionalization with biomolecules. Among the various approaches, great attention is devoted to the “click” concept in constructing a bioactive system, due to the modularity, orthogonality, and simplicity features of the “click” reactions. In this paper, we first provide an overview of current approaches that can be used to obtain biofunctional composite electrospun biomaterials. Finally, we propose a design of composite electrospun biomaterials suitable for skeletal muscle tissue regeneration.

Bilayer Membrane Composed of Mineralized Collagen and Chitosan Cast Film Coated With Berberine-Loaded PCL/PVP Electrospun Nanofiber Promotes Bone Regeneration

“…With a 20-G needle, the diameter of the nanofibers was uniform (780 ± 124 nm on average) and there was no adhesion, but cracks were observed at high magnification that increased the roughness of the stent. The scaffold generated by electrospinning had a structure similar to natural ECM ( Politi et al, 2020 ); the porosity can ensure the flow of nutrients, oxygen, and metabolic waste products from cells and accommodate cell growth and migration, which is important for tissue regeneration ( Li et al, 2019 ). Meanwhile, the mimic of physiological microenvironment can accelerate the bone regeneration ( Moradi et al, 2018 ).…”

Cardiac Regeneration: the Heart of the Issue

“…However, there is limited capacity to tune physicochemical properties in dECM used as solid scaffolds that maintain native matrix structure. For this reason, more recently, the dECMs have been further processed to generate dECM products as starting materials (e.g., powder and solubilized derivatives, hydrogels, or bioinks) for 3D printing [49][50][51] or electrospinning processes [52,53]. These approaches allow for modulation of architecture and mechanical properties of dECM-based scaffolds, leveraging the biochemical cues of native ECM with the capacity to tune physicochemical properties.…”

“…Bioactivity of dECM-based scaffolds may be further augmented using strategies for conjugation of bioactive molecules based on click chemistry because "click"reactions" offer high selectivity, versatility, simplicity, and yield [52]. Conductive materials may be incorporated into the scaffolds to improve the myocardium electrophysiological activity and contraction [54].…”

Parametric Finite Element Model and Mechanical Characterisation of Electrospun Materials for Biomedical Applications

“…Electrospun materials have unique properties, making them excellent candidates for biomedical applications such as tissue engineering [ 1 , 2 , 3 ], wound dressings [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ] and drug delivery vehicles [ 9 , 10 ]. The large surface-to-volume ratio and high porosity combined with small pore sizes improve breathability, impenetrability to bacteria and contamination, as well as fluid absorptivity, which, combined with the incorporation of medicinal substances, enables the development of active wound dressing, accelerating the healing process [ 11 , 12 ].…”

“…Electrospun scaffolds were also widely used for bone [ 8 ] and soft tissue engineering, in particular for vascular [ 3 , 14 , 27 ], tendon [ 11 ], ligament [ 28 ], and skeletal muscle [ 1 ]. Multiple materials can be used for electrospinning in medical applications, including synthetic biocompatible polymers and blends (poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) [ 29 ], poly(L-lactide) (PLLA) [ 30 ], poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) [ 31 , 32 ], polyurethane (PU) [ 14 ], poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) [ 27 ]), natural polymers (collagen [ 33 ], chitosan [ 34 ] or silk fibre [ 35 ]), and piezoelectric materials (poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) (PVDF-TrFE) [ 24 ]).…”