Superhydrophilic Polyurethane/Polydopamine Nanofibrous Materials Enhancing Cell Adhesion for Application in Tissue...

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Tissue Engineering
• Surface Chemistry

Background:

• Nanofibrous materials are crucial for tissue engineering scaffolds.
• Enhanced wettability and cell adhesion are key requirements for these materials.
• Current production methods may lack efficiency, scalability, or optimal surface properties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a fast, scalable, and efficient method for producing superhydrophilic nanofibrous materials.
• To improve the wettability and fibroblast cell adhesion of polyurethane (PU) nanofibrous scaffolds.
• To investigate the efficacy of dopamine polymerization for surface modification.

Main Methods:

• Polyurethane (PU) nanofibrous materials were fabricated using solution blow spinning.
• Surface modification was achieved through dopamine polymerization in an aqueous solution.
• Two variants of modification were explored: atmospheric oxygen (V-I) and sodium periodate oxidation (V-II).

Main Results:

• Both modification variants rendered the initially hydrophobic PU materials highly hydrophilic due to polydopamine (PDA) coating and nanoscale structures.
• The V-II process, using sodium periodate, resulted in superior material properties and required less modification time (<30 min).
• Fibroblast cell adhesion was significantly enhanced, with cells spreading within 2 hours on modified scaffolds, unlike unmodified PU.

Conclusions:

• The proposed two-step method effectively produces superhydrophilic nanofibrous materials with improved mechanical properties and significantly enhanced fibroblast adhesion.
• The sodium periodate-assisted dopamine polymerization (V-II) offers a superior and time-efficient approach.
• This technology holds promise for advanced applications in tissue engineering scaffolds.