Sliding Fibers: Slidable, Injectable, and Gel-like Electrospun Nanofibers as Versatile Cell Carriers

Abstract

Designing biomaterial systems that can mimic fibrous, natural extracellular matrix is crucial for enhancing the efficacy of various therapeutic tools. Herein, a smart technology of three-dimensional electrospun fibers that can be injected in a minimally invasive manner was developed. Open surgery is currently the only route of administration of conventional electrospun fibers into the body. Coordinating electrospun fibers with a lubricating hydrogel produced fibrous constructs referred to as slidable, injectable, and gel-like (SLIDING) fibers. These SLIDING fibers could pass smoothly through a catheter and fill any cavity while maintaining their fibrous morphology. Their injectable features were derived from their distinctive rheological characteristics, which were presumably caused by the combinatorial effects of mobile electrospun fibers and lubricating hydrogels. The resulting injectable fibers fostered a highly favorable environment for human neural stem cell (hNSC) proliferation and neurosphere formation within the fibrous structures without compromising hNSC viability. SLIDING fibers demonstrated superior performance as cell carriers in animal stroke models subjected to the middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) stroke model. In this model, SLIDING fiber application extended the survival rate of administered hNSCs by blocking microglial infiltration at the early, acute inflammatory stage. The development of SLIDING fibers will increase the clinical significance of fiber-based scaffolds in many biomedical fields and will broaden their applicability.

Recent Advances in Bioplastics: Application and Biodegradation

“…This induced a polarizing effect for macrophages in vivo after at least 14 days. Lee and colleagues [218] adopted an injectable PCL/hyaluronic acid hydrogel composite as the carrier of neural stem cells and successfully delivered it to an animal subjected to the middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) stroke model, resulting in a full recovery-blocking microglial infiltration and reducing the inflammatory response. A similar injection approach was undertaken by Wang and colleagues ( Figure 5) [219], wherein a PLA/hydrogel composite loaded with glial-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) implanted in the brain showed no deleterious impact on the host immune response, enhanced the survival of ventral midbrain grafts, and reinnervated the striatum.…”

Neural stem cell therapy for stroke: A multimechanistic approach to restoring neurological function

“…While many reports outline the robust therapeutic effects of NSCs transplanted alone, recent evidence suggests that engineering approaches with biomaterials limits stroke-induced tissue architecture disruptions and enhances NSC therapeutic function and engraftment (Bible, Qutachi et al, 2012;Jin, Mao et al, 2010;Lam, Lowry, Carmichael, & Segura, 2014;Lee, Yun, Park, & Jang, 2016;Yu et al, 2010). When cotransplanted with NSCs, the main role of biomaterials is often to cultivate an adequate structural microenvironment to foster the survival, cross talk, and integration of transplanted cells into host tissue.…”

Superhydrophobic, Reversibly Elastic, Moldable, and Electrospun (SupREME) Fibers with Multimodal Functions: From Oil Absorbents to Local Drug Delivery Adjuvants

“…The specific pore volumes of 3D SupREME fibers were significantly greater than that of 2D fibrous mats with the same mass (Figure S1, Supporting Information), possibly relating to their lightweight relative to their expanded volume. Replacing the exterior PSF with polystyrene (PS), which can also expand the volumes of electrospun fibers,[20b,21] resulted in the collapse of the fibers during the thermal treatment due to the thermal instability of PS (Figure S2, Supporting Information).…”