Chitosan/gelatin micro/nanofiber 3D composite scaffolds for regenerative medicine

Abstract

The present study reports on the fabrication of new composite chitosan-based knitted three-dimensional textile scaffolds for regenerative medicine. A critical research objective remained the fabrication of pure chitosan microfiber yarn with defined size and directional alignment, which could lead to textile structure, for example, woven and/or knitted fabrics. The construction of such textile structure with pure chitosan fibers possessing adequate tensile strength was recently realized in our laboratory. In the combination of micro/nanofiber composites, one can benefit from both the strength provided by the woven/knitted structure of the microfiber and the cell-seeding ability of the spun nanofiber mesh. Therefore, chitosan knitted fabrics were functionalized with gelatin nanofibers producing new interfaces for cell seeding. Both, pure chitosan and chitosan/gelatin scaffolds were proved non-cytotoxic to fibroblasts. Moreover, in vitro test with osteoblasts culture was carried out in order to analyze the influence of the surfaces and interfaces of the functionalized textile scaffold on cell ingrowth and proliferation.

Factors affecting the mechanical and geometrical properties of electrostatically flocked pure chitosan fiber scaffolds

“…Wet-spinning of chitosan filament yarns was conducted on an in-house wet-spinning pilot plant provided by Fourné Polymertechnik GmbH (Alfter, Germany) in accordance with Toskas and colleagues and Hild and colleagues. 27,28 The spinning dope was prepared by mixing at least 3 L of an aqueous solution containing 8 wt.% CHS 95/100 and 2.8 1 wt.% AcOH in demineralized water, stirring for 5–8 h in a dissolver and aging for 24 h. Subsequent filtration through a filter from Paul GmbH & Co. KG (Steinau an der Straße, Germany) consisting of three layers with a pore size of 50 µm removed non-dissolved components from the chitosan solution.…”

Electrospun Nanofibers of Natural and Synthetic Polymers as Artificial Extracellular Matrix for Tissue Engineering

“…Nanofibrous forms of various polymers have been introduced as artificial ECMs [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , ...…”

“…Different polymers, whether natural or synthetic, have been electrospun to form the fibrous scaffold analogous to mimic ECM to support cell activities [15][16][17]. As shown in Figure 2 (keywords= electrospun nanofiber AND Extracellular matrix), scientists have combined different polymers, biomacromolecules or even inserted mineral materials to promote process capabilities, mechanical and biological mimicry of the artificial ECMs [18][19][20][21]. Most review papers regarding electrospun nanofibers focus on the application of the fibers in a particular tissue engineering field such as cancer, skin, bone, etc.…”

Recent Developments in Chitosan-Based Micro/Nanofibers for Sustainable Food Packaging, Smart Textiles, Cosmeceuticals, and Biomedical Applications

“…The typical processing stages for traditional wet-spinning of chitosan fibers are illustrated in Figure 3 A [ 74 ]. Chitosan microfibers can be wet spun from a viscous chitosan solution (up to 8.5 wt%) in acetic acid [ 75 ]. The obtained microfibers have an average diameter of approximately 20 µm ( Figure 3 B), resulting in remarkable tensile strength (28.7 N, Young’s modulus; 12.2 GPa) and elongation at break (3.8%).…”