A significant problem that affects tissue-engineered electrospun nanofibrous scaffolds is poor infiltration of cells into the three-dimensional (3D) structure. Physical manipulation can enhance cellular infiltration into electrospun scaffolds. The porosity of electrospun nanofibers was highly enlarged by ultrasonication in an aqueous solution. The porosity and related property changes on a series of nanofibers were observed to be dependent on ultrasonication time and energy. To evaluate cell infiltration into the scaffold, fibroblasts were seeded onto these nanofibers and cultured for different lengths of time. The penetration levels of these cells into the scaffold were monitored using confocal lazer scanning microscopy. The cell infiltration potential was greatly increased with regard to an increase in pore size and porosity. These 3D nanofibrous scaffolds fabricated by an ultrasonication process allowed cells to infiltrate easily into the scaffold. This approach shows great promise for design of cell permeable nanofibrous scaffolds for tissue-engineering applications.
Despite the fact that advances of burn treatment have led to reduction in the morbidity caused by burns, burn infection is still a serious problem. In this study, we designed blended synthetic and natural polymers nanofiber scaffolds using polyurethane (PU) and gelatin, which were prepared by an electrospinning method. Silver-sulfadiazine (SSD) was co-mixed to the blended polymer solution for being incorporated into the nanofibers after the electrospinning, followed by examination of burn-wound healing effect. The nanofiber scaffolds containing SSD should not only serve as a substrate for skin regeneration, but may also deliver suitable drugs, within a controlled manner during healing. The SSD release was able to prevent the growth of a wide array of bacteria and accelerate the wound healing by preventing infection. Therefore it could accelerate the burn-wound closure rate. We confirmed that PU/gelatin nanofiber scaffolds containing SSD lead to enhanced regeneration of burn-wounds.
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