The Use of Electrospun Polycaprolactone as a Dermal Scaffold for Skin Tissue Engineering
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The Use of Electrospun Polycaprolactone as a Dermal Scaffold for Skin Tissue Engineering. Ming Chen2, Manisha Chopra2 and Sankha Bhowmick1, 2 1 Mechanical Engineering, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, 285 Old Westport Road, North Dartmouth, MA 02747, U.S.A. 2 Biomedical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, 285 Old Westport Road, North Dartmouth, MA 02747, U.S.A. ABSTRACT Rapid healing of acute and chronic skin defects is an important objective. In the present work, we report on the design and feasibility of a co-culture system for fibroblasts and keratinocytes by using electrospun polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffolds. Specifically, we quantified the effect of scaffold fiber diameter on keratinocyte attachment, proliferation and differentiation along with collagen secretion by fibroblasts post vacuum seeding with fibroblasts at various depths. The results show that fibroblasts secrete more collagen and keratinocytes differentiate more on 400 nm scaffolds than on 1000 nm scaffolds. Also, fibroblasts co-cultured with keratinocytes provide increased collagen secretion and keratinocyte differentiation. These results suggest that the fiber architecture can be a useful parameter in skin tissue engineering. INTRODUCTION Rapid healing of acute and chronic skin defects is an important objective. In large-surface and deep wounds for which primary wound closure is not possible, the priority is to keep the wound free of infection, to reduce or eliminate potential factors inhibiting the natural healing properties, and to replace as much as possible of the missing tissue. The scaffold, also known as the artificial extra-cellular matrix (ECM), is a temporary supporting structure for growing cells and tissues. The interactions between cells and ECM can modulate cellular activities such as migration, proliferation, differentiation, gene expression and secretion of various hormones and growth factors [1]. Thus, the more closely the in vivo environment (i.e. chemical composition, morphology, surface functional groups) can be re-created, the more likely the success of these tissue engineering scaffolds [2]. It has been suggested that the proper phenotypic cell expression may not be achieved if the scaffold’s fiber diameter is equivalent to the size of the cell or of an order of magnitude greater than the cell size [3]. This supports the hypothesis that nanofiberbased scaffolds may be optimal for tissue engineering. Electrospinning is a versatile and cost-effective technique employing electrostatic forces to produce polymer fibers ranging in diameter from a few microns down to tens of nanometers, with scaffolds having large surface area/volume ratio and interconnected porous geometry that help in the transport of oxygen and nutrient supports to the cells [4]. Fibroblasts play an important role in wound healing process by producing extracellular matrix components such as collagen, fibronectin and other products which play an important role in wound healing [5]. Patients with extensive deep
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