Poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) nanoparticle and poly(ɛ‐caprolactone) electrospun scaffold characterization for skeletal muscle regeneration

Abstract

Injuries to peripheral nerves and/or skeletal muscle can cause scar tissue formation and loss of function. The focus of this article is the creation of a conductive, biocompatible scaffold with appropriate mechanical properties to regenerate skeletal muscle. Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) nanoparticles (Np) were electrospun with poly(ɛ-caprolactone) (PCL) to form conductive scaffolds. During electrospinning, ribboning, larger fiber diameters, and unaligned scaffolds were observed with increasing PEDOT amounts. To address this, PEDOT Np were sonicated prior to electrospinning, which resulted in decreased conductivity and increased mechanical properties. Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) were added to the 1:2 solution in an effort to increase conductivity. However, the addition of MWCNT had little effect on scaffold conductivity, and the elastic modulus and yield stress of the scaffold increased as a result. Rat muscle cells attached and were active on the 1-10, 1-2, 3-4, and 1-1 PCL-PEDOT scaffolds; however, the 3-4 scaffolds had the lowest level of metabolic activity. Although the scaffolds were cytocompatible, further development of the fabrication method is necessary to produce more highly aligned scaffolds capable of promoting skeletal muscle cell alignment and eventual regeneration.

Optimizing C2C12 myoblast differentiation using polycaprolactone–polypyrrole copolymer scaffolds

“…Especially for the scaffolds collected on a flat plate (randomly oriented fibers), measuring fiber density or scaffold porosity may provide a better measure of the suitability of the scaffolds for hosting cells than fiber diameter. Previous studies that electrospun conductive particles have obtained similar fiber diameters . As we have found in our previous work, the addition of conductive particles may destabilize the electrospinning process, but it did not prevent a fibrous scaffold from being formed…”

“…Previous studies that electrospun conductive particles have obtained similar fiber diameters . As we have found in our previous work, the addition of conductive particles may destabilize the electrospinning process, but it did not prevent a fibrous scaffold from being formed…”

“…In general, a greater voltage difference between the metal needle and the collection device was needed for greater concentrations of PPy–PCL, and it was difficult to obtain a stable flow of solution for the 40% PPy–PCL groups. We previously had difficulty with electrospinning another conductive polymer, poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT), that was dispersed using sonication and combined with PCL . Although sonication allows particles to be dispersed in solution for electrospinning, we have found that there is a limit to the concentration of particles that will stay dispersed without affecting the electrospinning procedure.…”

Anisotropic Materials for Skeletal‐Muscle‐Tissue Engineering

“…[56, 57] The incorporation of electrically conductive constituents to muscle tissue engineering constructs, as is targeted by many researchers in the development of aligned nanofibrous scaffolds, provides conductivity cues that often have a complimentary effect on biophysical and/or biochemical cues. [18, 58, 59] …”

“…[59] An increase in the nanoparticle concentration resulted in an increase in the fibrous scaffold conductivity, but a decrease in nanofiber alignment which may be attributed to the overall change in solution conductivity leading to difficulties in electrospinning and/or repulsion among resultant nanofibers. Sonication of the electrospinning solution to disperse PEDOT nanoparticles resulted in better nanofiber alignment, but electrical conductivity decreased below a threshold value.…”