Properties of Electrospun Aligned Poly(lactic acid)/Collagen Fibers with Nanoporous Surface for Peripheral Nerve Tissue Engineering

Abstract

It is important for the functional recovery of defective nerves to construct a suitable microenvironment for nerve regeneration by optimizing the topological structure and biological functions of nerve grafts. Electrospun fibers are employed to mimic the extracellular matrix (ECM) and the effect of the porous features on fiber surface draws much attention. Yet, little is known about the effect of the nanotopology of the fiber surface in conjunction with collagen I (COL) on neural cells. Herein, poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/COL hybrid fibrous membranes with a nanoporous structure on a fiber surface are fabricated. The performance of the obtained fibrous membranes is investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), water contact angle (WCA), and tensile test measurements. The cytotoxicity and biocompatibility of PLA/COL hybrid fibrous membranes and their effects on neural cells are systematically investigated. The physicochemical test results show that the PLA/COL hybrid fibrous membranes have appropriate mechanical properties and improved hydrophilicity. The MTT assay and hemolysis assay suggest the nontoxicity and good hemocompatibility of PLA/COL membranes. The nanoporous structure on the fiber surface and the introduction of COL synergistically promote proliferation and elongation of Schwann cells (SCs) and the extension of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurites.

Brake Fluid Condition Monitoring by a Fiber Optic Sensor Using Silica Nanomaterials as Sensing Components

“…This study reveals that the sensitivity of aerogel exceeds that of nanofibers. This difference may be attributed to the higher porosity of silica aerogel, which can range from 80% to 99.8% [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ], compared to that of silica nanofibers, which typically exceed 80% porosity [ 71 , 72 , 73 ]. To the best knowledge of the authors, there is no study which uses the same sensing mechanism to detect the water content in brake fluid.…”

Recent Methods for Modifying Mechanical Properties of Tissue-Engineered Scaffolds for Clinical Applications

“…The following supporting information can be downloaded at https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/biomimetics8020205/s1: Table S1: A synopsis of each study described within this article, including the authors and publication year, material and tissue type, and testing and mechanical property information, as well as a brief summary, where appropriate, of each research paper reported thus far [29,64,113,[115][116][117][118][119][120][121][122][123][124][125][126][127][128][129][133][134][135][136][137][138][139][140][141][142][143][144][145][146][147][148]152,156,157,[159][160][161][162][163][164][165][166]…”

“…The following supporting information can be downloaded at : Table S1: A synopsis of each study described within this article, including the authors and publication year, material and tissue type, and testing and mechanical property information, as well as a brief summary, where appropriate, of each research paper reported thus far [ 29 , 64 , 113 , 115 , 116 , 117 , 118 , 119 , 120 , 121 , 122 , 123 , 124 , 125 , 126 , 127 , 128 , 129 , 133 , 134 , 135 , 136 , 137 , 138 , 139 , 140 , 141 , 142 , 143 , 144 , 145 , 146 , 147 , 148 , 152 , 156 , 157 , 159 , 160 , 161 , 162 , 163 , 164 , 165 , 166 , 170 , 190 ].…”

Neuro-regenerative behavior of adipose-derived stem cells in aligned collagen I hydrogels

“…Previous research suggests alignment of fibers could specifically enhance neuro-regenerative properties. For instance, aligned fibers doped with collagen [ [31] , [32] , [33] ] or growth factors [ 34 , 35 ] have been shown to promote neurite outgrowth. Further, Schwann cells and neurons embedded in hydrogels with aligned fibers exhibited increased neuro-regenerative potential [ 8 , 16 , 36 ].…”