The solvent chosen for the manufacturing of electrospun polycaprolactone scaffolds influences cell behavior of lung cancer cells

Abstract

The development of a trustworthy in vitro lung cancer model is essential to better understand the illness, find novel biomarkers, and establish new treatments. Polycaprolactone (PCL) electrospun nanofibers are a cost-effective and ECM-like approach for 3D cell culture. However, the solvent used to prepare the polymer solution has a significant impact on the fiber morphology and, consequently, on the cell behavior. Hence, the present study evaluated the effect of the solvent employed in the manufacturing on the physical properties of 15%-PCL electrospun scaffolds and consequently, on cell behavior of NCI-H1975 lung adenocarcinoma cells. Five solvents mixtures (acetic acid, acetic acid-formic acid (3:1, v/v), acetone, chloroform-ethanol (7:3, v/v), and chloroform-dichloromethane (7:3, v/v)) were tested. The highest cell viability ($$\overline{x }$$ x ¯ = 33.4%) was found for cells cultured on chloroform-ethanol (7:3) PCL scaffolds. Chloroform-dichloromethane (7:3) PCL scaffolds exhibited a roughness that enhanced the quality of electrospun filament, in terms of cell viability. Our findings highlighted the influence of the solvent on fiber morphology and protein adsorption capacity of nanofilaments. Consequently, these features directly affected cell attachment, morphology, and viability.