Controlled drug release from biodegradable thermoresponsive physical hydrogel nanofibers

Hydrogel nanofiber mats based on thermoresponsive multiblock poly(ester urethane)s comprising poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), poly(propylene glycol) (PPG), and poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL) segments were fabricated by electrospinning. The hydrogel nanofiber mats were more water absorbent under cold conditions and shrunk when exposed to higher temperatures. The rate of protein release could be controlled by changing the temperature of the nanofiber environment. Cell culture studies on the nanofiber mats were carried out using human dermal fibroblasts, and healthy cell morphology was observed. The adherent viable cells were quantified by MTS after rinsing in excess buffer solution. The results showed that these nanofiber scaffolds supported excellent cell adhesion, comparable with the pure PCL nanofibers. The increased hydrophilicity of these hydrogel nanofiber mats led to a more rapid hydrolytic degradation, compared with the pure PCL nanofiber mats. These hydrogel nanofiber scaffolds could potentially be used as thermoresponsive biodegradable supporting structures for skin tissue engineering applications.