Effect of crosslinking, hydroxyapatite addition, and fiber alignment to stimulate human mesenchymal stem cells osteoinduction in polycaprolactone‐based electrospun scaffolds

• Published in: Polymers for advanced technologies Vol. 33; no. 9; pp. 2682 - 2695
• Main Authors: Menezes, Felipe Castro, Siqueira, Nataly Machado, Fung, Stephanie, Scheibel, Jóice Maria, Moura, Dinara Jaqueline, Guvendiren, Murat, Kohn, Joachim, Soares, Rosane Michele Duarte
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 01-09-2022; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Alignment; Biological properties; Biomedical materials; bone tissue engineering; Crosslinking; Electrospinning; Gelatin; Hydroxyapatite; Mechanical properties; Natural polymers; Polycaprolactone; Scaffolds; Stem cells; Tissue engineering; Wettability
• ISSN: 1042-7147; 1099-1581
• DOI: 10.1002/pat.5723

Electrospinning is a versatile technique for producing composite scaffolds with nanostructure properties similar to the natural extracellular matrix. Biomaterials possessing mechanical, structural, and biological properties required for bone tissue engineering are a big challenge. However, the effect of fiber alignment, their mechanical properties, and chemical modifications on fibers are usually investigated individually. In this study, PCL/GE/HA scaffolds were electrospun in a static and drum rotatory collector to investigate the effects of alignment on the physicochemical properties of composite scaffolds. Furthermore, to achieve a stable composite with natural polymer gelatin (GE), a water‐soluble, zero‐length crosslinker (N‐[3‐dimethylaminopropyl]‐N′‐ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride, EDC) was used to crosslink GE. Our results have outlined that the incorporation of GE, as well as crosslinking process, produced a hydrophilic biomaterial, improving wettability compared to pure polycaprolactone (PCL). In addition, the alignment reinforced the material, increasing mechanical strength. Biological tests showed that GE addition and the alignment allowed a better osteoinduction than pure random PCL.