Poly(ε-caprolactone) Scaffolds Fabricated by Melt Electrospinning for Bone Tissue Engineering

Abstract

Melt electrospinning is a promising approach to manufacture biocompatible scaffolds for tissue engineering. In this study, melt electrospinning of poly(ε-caprolactone) onto structured, metallic collectors resulted in scaffolds with an average pore size of 250–300 μm and an average fibre diameter of 15 μm. Scaffolds were seeded with ovine osteoblasts in vitro. Cell proliferation and deposition of mineralised extracellular matrix was assessed using PicoGreen® (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Scoresby, Australia) and WAKO® HR II (WAKO, Osaka, Japan) calcium assays. Biocompatibility, cell infiltration and the growth pattern of osteoblasts on scaffolds was investigated using confocal microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Osteoblasts proliferated on the scaffolds over an entire 40-day culture period, with excellent survival rates and deposited mineralized extracellular matrix. In general, the 3D environment of the structured melt electrospun scaffold was favourable for osteoblast cultures.

Development and characterization of heparin-immobilized polycaprolactone nanofibrous scaffolds for tissue engineering using gamma-irradiation

“…8,9 Typical biocompatible synthetic polymers such as poly (L-lactic acid) (PLLA), poly (glycolic acid) (PGA), poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), and polycaprolactone (PCL) have been electrospun for bone tissue engineering. [10][11][12] Among the synthetic biopolymers, the FDA-approved PCL has a good mechanical strength, unique elasticity, and hardness similar to that of bone, and it degrades faster than either homopolymer. Biodegradable synthetic polymer scaffolds from electrospun PLLA nanobers, PLGA/hydroxyapatite composites, and HA-titanium have been used for the controlled, sustained, and localized release of BMP-2.…”

Endosteal-like extracellular matrix expression on melt electrospun written scaffolds

“…Our group has already demonstrated that melt electrospun PCL scaffolds are suitable to engineer bone constructs to study species-specific mechanisms in vivo [24,25]. However, the endosteallike ECM deposition by hOBs on melt electrospun PCL scaffolds has not been characterised [47,48]. We sought to advance the species-specific application of these bone constructs as an in vitro HSC niche model.…”

Recent studies on electrospinning preparation of patterned, core–shell, and aligned scaffolds

“…Different scaffolds were ready, depending on the materials needed to culture the cells, such as skin cells, bone cells, periodontal ligament cells, blood vessel . This section reviews recent advances in the use of these scaffolds in recent years.…”