Cold atmospheric plasma as a promising approach for gelatin immobilization on poly(ε-caprolactone) electrospun scaffolds

Abstract

Poly(Ɛ-caprolactone) (PCL) is a biocompatible polymer with a high potential to be used in tissue engineering especially in tight tissues. In the current study, cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) is used as a promising method for immobilization of gelatin as a functional biomacromolecule on PCL nanofibrous substrates. The CAP surface modification leads to oxidation of chemical groups existing on the PCL surface without doing any damage to the bulk properties of biomaterials for gelatin biomacromolecule grafting. The water contact angle (WCA) of the CAP-treated surface and gelatin-grafted PCL using CAP indicates an effective increment in the hydrophilicity of the PCL surface. Also to achieve the highest levels of gelatin grafting on the PCL surface, two different grafting methods and gelatin concentration diversity are utilized in the grafting process. The immobilization of gelatin biomacromolecules onto the CAP surface-modified PCL nanofibers is investigated using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The gelatin-modified PCL substrates revealed uniform nanofibrous morphology with increased average fiber diameter. The results of FTIR spectra, including hydroxyl groups, NH groups, and amide II of gelatin-grafting peaks, confirm the gelatin immobilization on the surface of nanofibers. The metabolic activity of cultured mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) on the surface-modified scaffolds is evaluated using MTT analysis ( P ≤ 0.05). The results of metabolic activity and also SEM and DAPI staining observations indicate proper attachment on the surface and viability for MSCs on the surface-immobilized nanofibrous scaffolds. Therefore, CAP treatment would be an effective method for biomacromolecule immobilization on nanofibers towards the enhancement of cell behavior.

Enhanced Adipose Mesenchymal Stem Cells Proliferation by Carboxymethyl-Chitosan Functionalized Polycaprolactone Nanofiber

“…One of the exciting solutions to this problem is to combine this scaffold with another natural polymer Here, CAP treatment on the PCL surface was used to graft CMC. Through CAP, rebuilding the microstructures and modifying the surface properties of the scaffolds became possible [17,20] .…”

“…The CAP added oxygen-containing groups like carboxyl, which resulted in a higher hydrophilicity and surface enhancement for grafting. Consequently, wettability and coloniality by cells were improved [20,27] . Bak et al [27] have demonstrated that the PCL is treated by O 2 or N 2 plasma, therby leading to hydrophilicity.…”

“…Atyabi et al [19] have shown that fibroblast cells demonstrate a considerable growth and proliferation in the PCL modified by CAP. Meghdadi et al [20] have introduced a primary carboxyl group on the PCL surface by CAP treatment so that gelatin could graft on PCL through covalent attachment. In this study, helium gas was utilized to produce jet plasma needed for the grafting process.…”

Bioactivity Determination of Recombinant lysostaphin Immobilized on Glass Surfaces Modified by Cold Atmospheric Plasma on Staphylococcus aureus

“…The contact angle method was used to understand the changes in surface wettability. Meghdadi et al (2019) reported an increase in the hydrophilicity of the cold atmospheric plasma-treated Poly (Ɛ-caprolactone) (PCL) surface using the water contact angle measurement [12].…”

“…Water contact angle. To measure the wettability of the surface, the static water contact angles (θ) were determined by the drop method at room temperature [12]. A droplet (5 μl) of water was placed on the untreated and 150 s helium plasma-treated on the defined surface area.…”