This study presents a new innovative method where electrospinning is used to coat single microfibers with nanofibers. The nanofiber-coated microfibers can be formed into scaffolds with the combined benefits of tailored porosity for cellular infiltration and nanostructured surface morphology for cell growth. The nanofiber coating is obtained by using a grounded collector rotating around the microfiber, to establish an electrical field yet allow collection of nanofibers on the microfiber. A Teflon tube surrounding the fibers and collector is used to force the nanofibers to the microfiber. Polycaprolactone nanofibers were electrospun onto polylactic acid microfibers and scaffolds of 95 and 97% porosities were made. Human chondrocytes were seeded on these scaffolds and on reference scaffolds of purely nanofibers and microfibers. Thereafter, cellular infiltration was investigated. The results indicated that scaffold porosity had great effects on cellular infiltration, with higher porosity resulting in increased infiltration, thereby confirming the advantage of the presented method.
Cellulose derivatives of carboxymethyl cellulose sodium salt (CMC), hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), methylcellulose (MC), and enzymatically treated cellulose have been electrospun, and the microstructure of the resulting nanofibers has been analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Before electrospinning, the solutions were characterized by viscometry and surface tension measurements, and the results were correlated with spinnability. Four different CMC derivatives, varying in molecular weight (M w ), degree of substitution (DS), and substitution pattern, have been electrospun in mixtures with poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), and nanofibers of various characteristics have formed. The CMC-based nanostructures, i.e., the nonwoven sheet and individual nanofibers, proved to be independent of M w and DS but largely dependent on the substitution pattern. The nonwoven sheets varied in homogeneity, and beads appeared on the individual fibers. Depending on the chemical nature of the CMC, the extraction of PEO resulted in pure CMC nanostructures of varying appearance, indicating that the distribution of PEO and CMC in the nanofibers also varied. Two different HPMC derivatives, varying in DS, were electrospun into nanofibers. Homogeneous nonwoven sheets based on nanofibers of similar appearance are formed, independent of the substitution content of the HPMC sample. Preliminary fibers were obtained from enzymatically treated cellulose in a solvent system based on lithium chloride dissolved in dimethyl acetamide (LiCl : DMAc).
The microstructure and the rheological properties of pure HM (high methoxyl) and LM (low methoxyl) pectin gels and of mixed HM/LM pectin gels have been investigated. Gel formation of either the HM or LM pectin, or both, was initiated in the mixed gels by varying the sucrose and Ca(2+) content. The microstructure was characterized by transmission electron microscopy, light microscopy, and confocal laser scanning microscopy. HM and LM pectin gels showed aggregated networks with large pores around 500 nm and network strands of similar character. Small differences could be found, such as a more inhomogeneous LM pectin network with shorter and more branched strands of flexible appearance. LM pectin also formed a weak gel in 60% sucrose in the absence of calcium. A highly inhomogeneous mixed gel structure was formed in the presence of 60% sucrose and Ca(2+) ions, which showed large synergistic effects in rheological properties. Its formation was explained by the behavior of the corresponding pure gels. In the presence of 60% sucrose alone, a homogeneous, fine-stranded mixed network was formed, which showed weak synergistic effects. It is suggested that LM pectin interacts with HM pectin during gel formation, thereby hindering secondary aggregation leading to the aggregated networks observed for the pure gels.
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