Mesenchymal stem cells growth and proliferation enhancement using PLA vs PCL based nanofibrous scaffolds

Electrospinning of polymers is the most commonly used technique for nanofiber fabrication. polylactic acid (PLA) and polycaprolactone (PCL) have been shown to be ideal for nanofiber preparation in various biomedical applications, due to characteristics such as biodegradablity and their ability to promote the cell growth, similar to native tissues. The aim of this study was to develop biocompatible and biodegradable PLA and PCL-based nanofibrous scaffolds for enhancing stem cell growth and proliferation. The scaffolds were prepared by electrospinning, and their physicochemical properties were studied using Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The surface morphology of the developed scaffolds was determined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), derived from both adipose tissue and bone marrow, were seeded onto the prepared nanofibrous scaffolds. The effect of scaffold type, and structural characteristics on survival and proliferation of MSCs were evaluated. Our results show that after full physicochemical characterization of PCL and PLA nanofibrous scaffolds both were safe and non-toxic to the evaluated cells and both scaffolds supported cell attachment and proliferation of bone marrow and adipose tissue-derived MSCs.