Wet‐Spun Biodegradable Fibers on Conducting Platforms: Novel Architectures for Muscle Regeneration

Abstract

Novel biosynthetic platforms supporting ex vivo growth of partially differentiated muscle cells in an aligned linear orientation that is consistent with the structural requirements of muscle tissue are described. These platforms consist of biodegradable polymer fibers spatially aligned on a conducting polymer substrate. Long multinucleated myotubes are formed from differentiation of adherent myoblasts, which align longitudinally to the fiber axis to form linear cell‐seeded biosynthetic fiber constructs. The biodegradable polymer fibers bearing undifferentiated myoblasts can be detached from the substrate following culture. The ability to remove the muscle cell‐seeded polymer fibers when required provides the means to use the biodegradable fibers as linear muscle‐seeded scaffold components suitable for in vivo implantation into muscle. These fibers are shown to promote differentiation of muscle cells in a highly organized linear unbranched format in vitro and thereby potentially facilitate more stable integration into recipient tissue, providing structural support and mechanical protection for the donor cells. In addition, the conducting substrate on which the fibers are placed provides the potential to develop electrical stimulation paradigms for optimizing the ex vivo growth and synchronization of muscle cells on the biodegradable fibers prior to implantation into diseased or damaged muscle tissue.

Aqueous dispersions of reduced graphene oxide and multi wall carbon nanotubes for enhanced glucose oxidase bioelectrode performance

“…The ability to solution process dispersions of conducting materials together with biological entities could facilitate this intimate connection. Additionally, these dispersions allow for existing solution phase fabrication techniques, including fibre fabrication for nerve regeneration [38] and printable implantable electronics [39], which could open the door to a new range of bioelectrodes.…”

Exploiting high quality PEDOT:PSS–SWNT composite formulations for wet-spinning multifunctional fibers

“…32,33 Typically, about 5 ml of the spinning formulation in a syringe was extruded through a 20 gauge blunt needle (as a spinneret) into a coagulation bath (isopropanol) controlled by a syringe pump at flow rates between 0.8 and 2 mg h À1 . Fibers collected at the bottom of the coagulation bath were wound continuously onto a winding spool at a constant speed of 4 m min À1 .…”

Printing nanomaterials using non-contact printing

“…We are particularly interested in the development of such bioplatforms for nerve [1] and muscle growth [2]. Printing is a class of techniques used to transfer functional materials onto suitable substrates with spatial control to create patterned structures.…”