Conductive polymers (CPs) have recently been applied in the development of scaffolds for tissue engineering applications in attempt to induce additional cues able to enhance tissue growth. Polyaniline (PANI) is one of the most widely studied CPs, but it requires to be blended with other polymers in order to be processed through conventional technologies. Here, we propose the fabrication of nanofibers based on a polycaprolactone (PCL)-PANI blend obtained using electrospinning technology. An extracellular matrix-like fibrous substrate was obtained showing a good stability in the physiological environment (37 °C in PBS solution up 7 days). However, since the high hydrophobicity of the PCL-PANI mats (133.5 ± 2.2°) could negatively affect the biological response, a treatment with atmospheric plasma was applied on the nanofibrous mats, obtaining a hydrophilic surface (67.1 ± 2°). In vitro tests were performed to confirm the viability and the physiological-like morphology of human foreskin fibroblast (HFF-1) cells cultured on the plasma treated PCL-PANI nanofibrous scaffolds.

Piezoelectric ceramic nanomaterials have recently attracted attention in the biomedical field thanks to their interesting electrical properties in response to mechanical stimulation (and vice versa) combined with a good biocompatibility and the ability to promote the regeneration of electrically sensitive tissues. In tissue engineering approaches, in order to obtain smart scaffolds these materials must be combined with other biomaterials for processing through conventional as well as non-conventional technologies. In this work, a novel composite electrospun membrane was produced by combining extracellular matrix-like gelatin nanofibers with barium titanate nanoparticles (BTNPs). The electrospinning process was optimized to achieve a high BTNP load, reducing the formation of aggregates which could alter the morphology and stability of the membrane. A complete morphological, mechanical and chemical–physical characterization of the composite membranes was performed, confirming the integration of the BTNPs into the polymer fibers. Furthermore, the biocompatibility of the developed membranes was assessed using a sarcoma osteogenic cell line (SaOS-2).

The design and fabrication of a system to both mimic the multicellular composition of the lung and its vascular network, as well as the composition and structure of extracellular matrix (ECM) was developed.