Electrospun nanofibers immobilized with collagen for neural stem cells culture

Fibrous mats via electrospinning have been widely applied in tissue engineering. In this work, nanofibers were prepared via electrospinning from polymer with different content of carboxyl groups. A natural material, collagen, was then immobilized onto the nanofiber surface by N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-N'-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC)/N-Hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) activation process. It was found that the immobilization degree of collagen could be facilely modulated. The obtained collagen-modified nanofibers were used for neural stem cells culture, and unmodified nanofibers were used as a control. Results indicated that the modification of collagen could enhance the attachment and viability of the cultured neural stem cells.