Electrospinning of methacrylated alginate for tissue engineering applications

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Polymer Chemistry
• Tissue Engineering

Background:

• Alginate is a biocompatible polysaccharide with potential in biomedical applications.
• Developing novel alginate derivatives is crucial for advanced material fabrication.
• Electrospinning offers a versatile method for creating nanofibrous scaffolds.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize photo-crosslinkable methacrylated alginate derivatives (M-ALGs).
• To fabricate nonwoven M-ALG fiber mats using needle and needleless electrospinning.
• To evaluate the cytocompatibility of the cross-linked M-ALG scaffolds with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs).

Main Methods:

• Sodium alginate was modified with glycidyl methacrylate to create M-ALGs.
• Needle and needleless electrospinning techniques were optimized for fiber production.
• Photo-crosslinking via UV irradiation rendered the fiber mats insoluble in physiological media.
• Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were cultured on the cross-linked scaffolds.

Main Results:

• Uniform, bead-free M-ALG fibers with an average diameter of ~150 nm were successfully produced.
• The needleless electrospinning technique accommodated a wider range of solution properties.
• Photo-crosslinked M-ALG fiber mats maintained mechanical integrity and insolubility in physiological conditions.
• Cultured MSCs formed spherical colonies on the scaffolds, indicating good cytocompatibility.

Conclusions:

• Photo-crosslinkable M-ALGs can be effectively fabricated into nanofibrous scaffolds via electrospinning.
• The developed scaffolds exhibit suitable properties for cell culture applications.
• These M-ALG scaffolds show promise for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.