A human-like collagen/chitosan electrospun nanofibrous scaffold from aqueous solution: electrospun mechanism and...

Novel human-like collagen (HLC)/chitosan blended with poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) nanofibrous meshes of different ratios were fabricated by electrospinning from aqueous solutions. Through studying the effects of the three composition on the solution rheological properties and the morphology of electrospun meshes, the mechanism of electrospinning was explored at the molecular level, and the ratio of PEO/(HLC & chitosan) (w/w) should be controlled below 1/4 as a plasticizer and HLC/chitosan maintained 4/3 w/w. Obtained meshes were treated by 0.2% glutaraldehyde solution (95% ethanol) for crosslinking and 0.2 M glycine solution for blocking unreacted aldehyde groups and became insoluble with fiber diameters of 151 ± 33 to 278 ± 46 nm, PEO was leached out after crosslinking and rinsing. HLC/chitosan scaffolds (4/3, w/w) could mimic native ECM in both chemical component and structure and support cellular in-growth in vivo while exhibited proper degradation rate in vivo. Bone marrow stromal cells adopted a flattened shape with filopodia- and lamellipodia-like extensions in the scaffolds and grew as a confluent layer after 7 days of culture in vitro. This study indicated the feasibility of electrospun nanofabrious HLC/chitosan scaffold from aqueous solution for tissue engineering application.