Electrospun Chitosan-graft-poly (ε-caprolactone)/Poly (ε-caprolactone) Nanofibrous Scaffolds And Their Application In Tissue Engineering

This research is aimed to develop cationic nanofibrous mats with improved cellular adhesion profiles and stability of three-dimensional fibrous structure as potential scaffolds for tissue engineering. Firstly, amino-remained chitosan-graft-poly (s-caprolactone) (CS-PCL) was synthesized with a facile one-step manner by graftingε-caprolactone oligomers onto the hydroxyl groups of CS via ring-opening polymerization. And then, CS-PCL/PCL nanofibrous scaffolds were obtained by electrospinning of CS-PCL/PCL mixed solution using common solvent systems. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed that the morphology and diameter of the nanofibers were mainly affected by the weight ratio of CS-PCL to PCL. The enrichment of amino groups on the nanofiber surface was confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). With the increase of CS-PCL in CS-PCL/PCL nanofiber, the content of amino groups on the nanofiber surface increased, which resulted in the increase of zeta-potential of nanofibers. Studies on cell-scaffold interaction were carried out by culturing mice fibroblast cells (L929) on CS-PCL/PCL scaffolds with various content of CS-PCL by assessing the growth, proliferation and morphology of cells. The results of MTS assay and SEM observation showed that CS-PCL/PCL(20/80) scaffolds with a moderate surface zeta-potential (ζ=3 mV) were the best in promoting both mRPCs and L929 cells attachment and proliferation. Toluidene blue staining essay further confirmed that L929 cells grown well and exhibited a normal morphology on CS-PCL/PCL(20/80) mats. These results suggested the potential utilization of CS-PCL/PCL (20/80) nanofibrous mats for skin tissue engineeringA promising therapy for retinal diseases is to employ biodegradable scaffolds to deliver retinal progenitor cells (mRPCs) for repairing damaged or diseased retinal tissue. Mice retinal progenitor cells were seeded on the electrospun scaffolds and cultured for 7 days. In vitro proliferation assays revealed that mRPCs grown on the CS-PCL/PCL(20/80) scaffolds were also better than on other electrospun scaffolds did. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and real time quantitative PCR (qPCR) results showed that mRPCs grown on CS-PCL/PCL(20/80) scaffolds were more likely to differentiate towards retinal neurons as compared with mRPCs grown on PCL scaffolds. Taken together, our results suggest the potential utilization of CS-PCL/PCL (20/80) scaffolds for retinal tissue engineering.