Osteoinductive peptide-functionalized nanofibers with highly ordered structure as biomimetic scaffolds for bone...

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Tissue Engineering
• Regenerative Medicine

Background:

• Developing functional biomimetic scaffolds is crucial for bone tissue engineering.
• Mimicking the topographical and biochemical features of bone extracellular matrix is a key challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To create a novel surface-functionalized electrospun polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofiber scaffold.
• To simulate critical features of native bone tissue using catechol chemistry and peptide immobilization.

Main Methods:

• Electrospinning of PCL nanofibers followed by polydopamine (pDA) coating.
• Covalent immobilization of bone morphogenetic protein-7-derived peptides onto pDA-coated nanofibers.
• Characterization using contact angle, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.

Main Results:

• Surface modification confirmed by spectroscopy, showing successful pDA and peptide attachment.
• Improved cytocompatibility, including enhanced cell adhesion, spreading, and proliferation.
• Significantly enhanced osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells on aligned peptide-functionalized nanofibers.

Conclusions:

• Aligned peptide-decorated PCL nanofibers promote osteogenic differentiation of stem cells.
• This biomimetic design offers superior osteogenic efficacy by combining peptide signals and ordered structures.
• The developed scaffolds show promising potential for bone tissue engineering applications.