Electrospun Poly(ester-Urethane)- and Poly(ester-Urethane-Urea) Fleeces as Promising Tissue Engineering Scaffolds for Adipose-Derived Stem Cells

Abstract

An irreversible loss of subcutaneous adipose tissue in patients after tumor removal or deep dermal burns makes soft tissue engineering one of the most important challenges in biomedical research. The ideal scaffold for adipose tissue engineering has yet not been identified though biodegradable polymers gained an increasing interest during the last years. In the present study we synthesized two novel biodegradable polymers, poly(ε-caprolactone-co-urethane-co-urea) (PEUU) and poly[(L-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone)-co-(L-lysine ethyl ester diisocyanate)-block-oligo(ethylene glycol)-urethane] (PEU), containing different types of hydrolytically cleavable bondings. Solutions of the polymers at appropriate concentrations were used to fabricate fleeces by electrospinning. Ultrastructure, tensile properties, and degradation of the produced fleeces were evaluated. Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) were seeded on fleeces and morphology, viability, proliferation and differentiation were assessed. The biomaterials show fine micro- and nanostructures composed of fibers with diameters of about 0.5 to 1.3 µm. PEUU fleeces were more elastic, which might be favourable in soft tissue engineering, and degraded significantly slower compared to PEU. ASCs were able to adhere, proliferate and differentiate on both scaffolds. Morphology of the cells was slightly better on PEUU than on PEU showing a more physiological appearance. ASCs differentiated into the adipogenic lineage. Gene analysis of differentiated ASCs showed typical expression of adipogenetic markers such as PPARgamma and FABP4. Based on these results, PEUU and PEU meshes show a promising potential as scaffold materials in adipose tissue engineering.

Tendon Biomimetic Electrospun PLGA Fleeces Induce an Early Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition and Tenogenic Differentiation on Amniotic Epithelial Stem Cells

“…In particular, one important aspect is the correct design of non-woven fleeces that mimic the collagen parallel structure and the biomechanics of the native ECM of the tendon [8,9]. Electrospinning has been identified as a valuable manufacturing process to generate constructs mimicking the micro and submicron-scaled fibrous structure of the native ECM of various soft tissues [10][11][12][13]. Using an advantageous electrospinning technique, this process can be also used to fabricate fleeces mimicking the highly aligned collagen fibrils of native tendons and ligaments [14][15][16][17][18].…”

Dip TIPS as a Facile and Versatile Method for Fabrication of Polymer Foams with Controlled Shape, Size and Pore Architecture for Bioengineering Applications

“…In such cases, the tubule thickness and inner lumen diameter should be designed to meet the requirements of the host tissue. The skin or other similar tissue reconstruction strategies demand flat sheet scaffolds [9] , [10] . Here also, the thickness should be carefully controlled to avoid the development of any necrotic cores.…”

Acceleration of osteogenic differentiation by sustained release of BMP2 in PLLA/graphene oxide nanofibrous scaffold

“…One of the most popular types of polymers is poly(alpha-hydroxy esters), which come in a variety of forms and are aliphatic. 10 Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is a biological product made up of lactic acid monomers, which are naturally produced in the human body in metabolic pathways and then broken down. 11 PLA as a most widely used polymer in medical applications, which consists of three isomeric forms: poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA), poly(D-lactic acid) (PDLA), and poly(D,L-lactic acid) (PDLLA).…”