Superhydrophilic Polyurethane/Polydopamine Nanofibrous Materials Enhancing Cell Adhesion for Application in Tissue Engineering

Abstract

The use of nanofibrous materials in the field of tissue engineering requires a fast, efficient, scalable production method and excellent wettability of the obtained materials, leading to enhanced cell adhesion. We proposed the production method of superhydrophilic nanofibrous materials in a two-step process. The process is designed to increase the wettability of resulting scaffolds and to enhance the rate of fibroblast cell adhesion. Polyurethane (PU) nanofibrous material was produced in the solution blow spinning process. Then the PU fibers surface was modified by dopamine polymerization in water solution. Two variants of the modification were examined: dopamine polymerization under atmospheric oxygen (V-I) and using sodium periodate as an oxidative agent (V-II). Hydrophobic PU materials after the treatment became highly hydrophilic, regardless of the modification variant. This effect originates from polydopamine (PDA) coating properties and nanoscale surface structures. The modification improved the mechanical properties of the materials. Materials obtained in the V-II process exhibit superior properties over those from the V-I, and require shorter modification time (less than 30 min). Modifications significantly improved fibroblasts adhesion. The cells spread after 2 h on both PDA-modified PU nanofibrous materials, which was not observed for unmodified PU. Proposed technology could be beneficial in applications like scaffolds for tissue engineering.

Research Progress on Polydopamine Nanoparticles for Tissue Engineering

“…Recently, researchers reported that, other than atmospheric oxygen, metallic oxidants (copper, zinc or nickel ions) and nonmetallic oxidants (sodium periodate, ammonium persulfate, hydrogen peroxide, etc.) could both start the PDA coating ( Kopec et al, 2020 ). Specifically, PDA can also be synthesized by electro-polymerization, exhibiting a higher deposition rate compared to the typical self-polymerization method ( Wang et al, 2014 ).…”

Superhydrophilic PLGA-Graft-PVP/PC Nanofiber Membranes for the Prevention of Epidural Adhesion

“…Traditional antiadhesion membranes are mainly hydrophobic materials, while superhydrophilic materials have been found in recent years to inhibit cell adhesion. 33 In addition, nanoscale topography appears to play a more important role in cell adhesion than the hydrophilic/hydrophobic properties. Zangi et al found that smooth nanoscale topography could significantly suppress cell adhesion, 34 and such cell-repellent behavior is widely used in biosensors and blood-contacting devices.…”

Preparation and Antifouling Property of Polyurethane Film Modified by PHMG and HA Using Layer-by-Layer Assembly

“…The variation of the WCA was likewise related to the introduction of functional groups/molecules onto the surface. The WCA of the original PU was 90.1° due to its hydrophobicity [ 43 , 44 ]. The successful grafting of hydrophobic isocyanate on PU resulted in the WCA of PU-NCO increasing to 96.8° [ 37 , 45 ].…”