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Updated: Dec 21, 2025
The Culture of Primary Motor and Sensory Neurons in Defined Media on Electrospun Poly-L-lactide Nanofiber Scaffolds
Published on: February 15, 2011
Application of electrospun polycaprolactone fibers embedding lignin nanoparticle for peripheral nerve regeneration:
Shahram Amini1, Ahmad Saudi2, Noushin Amirpour3
1Department of Anatomical Sciences and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran; Department of Tissue Engineering, Najafabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Iran; Department of Biomaterials, Tissue Engineering and Nanotechnology, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Abstract:
Lignin displays attractive properties in peripheral nerve applications. Here, aligned polycaprolactone (PCL) fibers with various percentages of lignin nanoparticles were fabricated using the electrospinning method. The morphologies, contact angles, mechanical properties, in vitro degradation, and water uptake of the PCL/lignin fibers were characterized. Cell viability and adhesion of PC12 and human adipose-derived stem cells (hADSCs) were studied employing MTT assay and SEM, respectively. SEM, immunocytochemistry, and Real-Time PCR were utilized to characterize neural differentiation and neurite length of PC12 and hADSCs. To further study on lignin effect on nerve regeneration, in vivo studies were performed. The results indicated that all nanocomposite fibers were smooth and bead-free. With increasing the lignin content, the water contact angle decreased while in vitro degradation, water uptake, and Young's modulus increased compared to the PCL fibers. Cell viability, and differentiation along with neurite length extension were promoted by increasing lignin content. The neural markers expression for differentiated cells were upregulated by the increase of lignin percent. In vivo investigation also demonstrates that sample groups incorporating 15% lignin nanoparticles showed better regeneration among others. Therefore, PCL with 15% of lignin nanoparticles shows great potential to be applied for nerve regeneration.
