A Biomimetic Nonwoven-Reinforced Hydrogel for Spinal Cord Injury Repair

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Tissue Engineering
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Spinal cord injury (SCI) regeneration requires mechanically optimized, hydrated environments.
• Composite scaffolds integrating nonwovens, self-assembling peptides (SAPs), and hydrogels can mimic native tissue and promote aligned regeneration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of aligned poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) nonwoven fibers enriched with P11-8 and integrated with a photo-crosslinked glycidylmethacrylated collagen (collagen-GMA) hydrogel on neurite extension.
• To characterize the mechanical properties and cell viability within the collagen-GMA hydrogel.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of aligned electrospun PCL/P11-8 nonwoven scaffolds.
• Integration with photo-crosslinked collagen-GMA hydrogels.
• Mechanical testing (compression and shear) and cell viability assays (PC12 cells).

Main Results:

• Collagen-GMA hydrogels exhibited J-shaped stress-strain curves, mimicking native spinal cord tissue.
• Hydrogel mechanical properties (e.g., strain at break, maximum stress) closely matched native tissue, particularly at 0.8 wt.% concentration.
• Hydrogels supported homogenous cell encapsulation with high viability (84 ± 2%) and optimal shear modulus for neural cell growth.
• Combined scaffolds maintained structural integrity and promoted aligned neurite extension of PC12 cells.

Conclusions:

• Composite scaffolds with mechanical properties mimicking native spinal cord tissue and optimized for neural cells can be produced.
• Combining hydrogels and electrospun nonwovens effectively promotes aligned tissue regeneration after spinal cord injury.