Electrospun Bilayer Chitosan/Hyaluronan Material and Its Compatibility with Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Abstract

A bilayer nonwoven material for tissue regeneration was prepared from chitosan (CS) and hyaluronic acid (HA) by needleless electrospinning wherein 10–15 wt% (with respect to polysaccharide) polyethylene oxide was added as spinning starter. A fiber morphology study confirmed the material’s uniform defect-free structure. The roughness of the bilayer material was in the range of 1.5–3 μm, which is favorable for cell growth. Electrospinning resulted in the higher orientation of the polymer structure compared with that of corresponding films, and this finding may be related to the orientation of the polymer chains during the spinning process. These structural changes increased the intermolecular interactions. Thus, despite a high swelling degree of 1.4–2.8 g/g, the bilayer matrix maintained its shape due to the large quantity of polyelectrolyte contacts between the chains of oppositely charged polymers. The porosity of the bilayer CS–HA nonwoven material was twice lower, while the Young’s modulus and break stress were twice higher than that of a CS monolayer scaffold. Therefore, during the electrospinning of the second layer, HA may have penetrated into the pores of the CS layer, thereby increasing the polyelectrolyte contacts between the two polymers. The bilayer CS–HA scaffold exhibited good compatibility with mesenchymal stem cells. This characteristic makes the developed material promising for tissue engineering applications.

Hyaluronan-Based Nanofibers: Fabrication, Characterization and Application

“…A recent study [76] described that the bilayered, nanofibrous material consisted of a chitosan/PEO layer with average diameters from 360 to 420 nm and an HA/PEO layer with average diameters from 370 to 650 nm.…”

“…The blended HA-PEO solutions (60/40 and 70/30) produce fibers with beaded structures. A bilayered, nonwoven material for tissue regeneration was prepared from chitosan (CS) and HA (MW 5.4 × 10 4 ) by needleless electrospinning, wherein 10-15 wt% (with respect to polysaccharide) polyethylene oxide was added as spinning starter [76]. The roughness of the bilayer material was in the range of 1.5-3 µm, which is favorable for cell growth.…”

Silver Nanoparticles on Chitosan/Silica Nanofibers: Characterization and Antibacterial Activity

“…This is one of the best ways to synthesize homogeneous composites. Additionally, the nanofiber forms of composites that are useful in practice have many advantages, including large and active surfaces and forms that are desirable for use in sensors and as affinity membranes (e.g., air filtration membranes, water filtration membranes, scaffolds for tissue engineering or wound care patches) [35][36][37]. Moreover, the usefulness of this type of composite in the form of nanofiber sheets is growing when compared to powders, gel systems, and others.…”

Crosslinked Hyaluronan Electrospun Nanofibers for Ferulic Acid Ocular Delivery

“…This negatively charged glycosaminoglycan, composed of alternating units of D-glucuronic acid and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, can be hardly electrospun from aqueous solutions due to the high surface tension and chain stiffness that results from the long electrostatic interactions and intramolecular hydrogen bonds, increasing the viscosity. For these reasons, HA has been electrospun in association with other polymers [27][28][29].…”