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Electrospun Nanofiber Scaffolds with Gradations in Fiber Organization
Published on: April 19, 2015
Co-electrospun dual scaffolding system with potential for muscle-tendon junction tissue engineering
Mitchell R Ladd1, Sang Jin Lee, Joel D Stitzel
1Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.
Biomaterials
|November 25, 2010
Summary
This study engineered a novel dual scaffold for muscle-tendon junction (MTJ) tissue engineering. The scaffold mimics native MTJ mechanical properties, supporting cell growth and offering a promising solution for composite tissue regeneration.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Science
- Tissue Engineering
- Regenerative Medicine
Background:
- Current tissue engineering successes focus on single tissues, lacking methods for complex composite tissues like muscle-tendon junctions (MTJs).
- Engineering MTJs requires scaffolds with continuous, region-specific properties to facilitate seamless force transfer between muscle and tendon tissues.
- Existing scaffold designs present challenges in mimicking the heterogeneous mechanical environment of native MTJs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a dual-material scaffold with distinct regional mechanical properties for MTJ tissue engineering.
- To create a scaffold that replicates the mechanical gradient observed in native MTJs, enabling better force transmission.
- To assess the cytocompatibility and cellular integration of the engineered scaffold with muscle and fibroblast cells.
Main Methods:
- Co-electrospinning of poly(ε-caprolactone)/collagen and poly(l-lactide)/collagen onto a mandrel to form a three-region scaffold.
- Characterization using scanning electron microscopy, uniaxial, cyclic, and video strain tensile testing, and MTS assays for cytocompatibility.
- Seeding scaffolds with C2C12 myoblasts and NIH3T3 fibroblasts, and comparison with native porcine diaphragm MTJ mechanical analysis.
Main Results:
- Successfully fabricated integrated scaffolds with controlled fiber diameters (452-549 nm) and distinct regional mechanical properties (moduli 4.490-27.62 MPa).
- Scaffolds demonstrated resilience under cyclic loading, exhibiting hysteresis, and their strain profiles mirrored native MTJ behavior via video analysis.
- The scaffolds proved cytocompatible, supporting attachment and myotube formation of seeded muscle and fibroblast cells.
Conclusions:
- The developed dual-material scaffold effectively mimics the regional mechanical variations of native MTJs.
- The scaffold's properties and cytocompatibility make it a promising candidate for advancing MTJ tissue engineering.
- This approach offers a viable strategy for creating functional composite tissues requiring specific mechanical gradients.
