Solution blow spinning fibres: New immunologically inert substrates for the analysis of cell adhesion and motility

Abstract

The control of cell behaviour through material geometry is appealing as it avoids the requirement for complex chemical surface modifications. Significant advances in new technologies have been made to the development of polymeric biomaterials with controlled geometry and physico-chemical properties. Solution blow spinning technique has the advantage of ease of use allowing the production of nano or microfibres and the direct fibre deposition on any surface in situ. Yet, in spite of these advantages, very little is known about the influence of such fibres on biological functions such as immune response and cell migration. In this work, we engineered polymeric fibres composed of either pure poly(lactic acid) (PLA) or blends of PLA and polyethylene glycol (PEG) by solution blow spinning and determined their impact on dendritic cells, highly specialised cells essential for immunity and tolerance. We also determined the influence of fibres on cell adhesion and motility. Cells readily interacted with fibres resulting in an intimate contact characterised by accumulation of actin filaments and focal adhesion components at sites of cell-fibre interactions. Moreover, cells were guided along the fibres and actin and focal adhesion components showed a highly dynamic behaviour at cell-fibre interface. Remarkably, fibres did not elicit any substantial increase of activation markers and inflammatory cytokines in dendritic cells, which remained in their immature (inactive) state. Taken together, these findings will be useful for developing new biomaterials for applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

Guiding cell adhesion and motility by modulating cross-linking and topographic properties of microgel arrays

“…B16F1 cells (ATCC CRL 6323) and B16F1 cells stably expressing RFP-zyxin [ 10 , 50 ] were grown in DMEM high glucose supplemented with 10% FCS, 2 mM L-glutamine, 1 mM sodium pyruvate, 100 μg mL -1 streptomycin and 100 U mL -1 penicillin at 37°C, 5% CO 2 . Control and Gas2L1 knock out Sertoli cells were grown in DMEM/F12 [1:1] supplemented with 10% FCS, 2 mM L-glutamine, 100 μg mL -1 streptomycin and 100 U mL -1 penicillin at 37°C, 5% CO 2 [ 51 ].…”

“…Cells were fixed and permeabilised as described earlier [ 10 , 50 , 57 ]. Briefly, the actin cytoskeleton was labelled with Alexa 594-conjugated phalloidin (0.3 U mL -1 , cat.…”

Nano/microfibers of EVA copolymer obtained by solution blow spinning: Processing, solution properties, and pheromone release application

“…The fibers produced by solution blow spinning have some similar characteristics to fibers obtained by other techniques (electrospinning, gas jet spinning, nozzle‐free centrifugal spinning, rotary jet spinning, and flash‐spinning) . However, this technology have some advantages, such as high production rate, the possibility of in situ application, low construction cost of the spinning system, and application in any substrate, among others …”

Instant in-situ Tissue Repair by Biodegradable PLA/Gelatin Nanofibrous Membrane Using a 3D Printed Handheld Electrospinning Device

“…Polylactic acid has good biocompatibility, biodegradability (degradation product is non-toxic lactic acid), and mechanical properties. It is a biomaterial approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for in-vivo transplantation and thus becomes one of the most commonly used electrospun synthetic polymer materials for soft tissue repair (Paschoalin et al, 2017 ). However, the simple surface of the PLA molecule is highly hydrophobic and lacks a cell recognition site, which is not conducive to the rapid adhesion, migration, and regeneration of tissue cells.…”

“…In view of this, PLA and gelatin composites have advantages of both materials, which cannot only maintain the mechanical properties but also delay the degradation rate so that it matches the speed of tissue repair and regeneration. The electrospun nanofibers of polymer materials have good properties, such as porosity, water retention, tissue compatibility, and mechanical properties, and are, therefore, favored in the field of tissue repair, including skin, dura mater, muscle, bone, and cartilage (Su and Wang, 2015 ; Paschoalin et al, 2017 ; Zarei and Soleimaninejad, 2018 ). It has been reported that electrospun nanofibers of PLA/gelatin blends are one of the most ideal material combinations for soft tissue repair applications (Liu et al, 2014 ; Xu et al, 2015 , 2017 ; Deng et al, 2017 ).…”