Patterned Electrospinning: A Method of Generating Defined Fibrous Constructs Influencing Cell Adhesion and Retention

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Tissue Engineering
• Polymer Science

Background:

• Functional tissue replacement requires scaffolds mimicking native stroma.
• Electrospinning produces fibrous constructs with high surface area for cell interaction.
• Current electrospun scaffolds lack macroscale design control, limiting properties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a method for creating electrospun scaffolds with defined patterns and topography.
• To investigate how scaffold design influences physical properties and cell interactions.
• To enhance cell adhesion and retention in engineered tissue constructs.

Main Methods:

• Fabricated five unique electrospinning target collectors for patterned scaffold generation (lines, sinusoids, squares, zigzags, solid).
• Electrospun poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid onto collectors under identical conditions.
• Analyzed scaffold physical configuration, mechanical/chemical properties, and vascular smooth muscle cell adhesion/retention.

Main Results:

• Collector design significantly altered fiber target coverage, ranging from 100% (solid) to 72.6% (lines).
• Scaffold properties like fiber excess, open area, and hydrophobicity correlated with collector pattern.
• The 'lines' design yielded the highest cell adhesion (258 cells) and retention, while 'solid' had the lowest (150 cells).
• Strong correlations found between cell adhesion and residual open area (R²=0.94), normalized fiber excess (R²=0.99), and fiber grammage (R²=0.72).

Conclusions:

• Patterned collectors enable precise control over macroscopic and microscopic electrospun scaffold features.
• Scaffold design directly impacts cell adhesion and retention, crucial for tissue engineering applications.
• This methodology offers translational utility for designing specific tissue constructs with tailored properties.