Degradation and early in vitro activity of healthy hepatocytes onto bicomponent electrospun fibers

ABSTRACT

Bicomponent electrospun fibers (BEFs) have been designed as building blocks of various biomedical devices, i.e., scaffolds, conduits, grafts, for the repair/regeneration of in vitro and in vivo tissues. With respect to monocomponent fibers, BEF may exert diversified patterns of signals—morphological, chemical or physical—confined at the single fiber level, conferring them a unique ability of self-adapting to local microenvironment and influencing cell/fiber interaction. Herein, an investigation of basic relationships between degradation properties of BEF and in vitro response of healthy hepatocytes to prove their use as in vitro model to predict in vivo liver regeneration is proposed.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

KEYWORDS:

• Atomic force microscopy
• electrospinning
• liver
• scaffold degradation
• surface roughness

Additional information

Funding

This work has been financially supported by NEWTON (FIRB-RBAP11BYNP), POLIFARMA (PON02 3203241), and the National Operative Programme REPAIR (PON01-02342). Scanning electron microscopy was supported by the Transmission and Scanning Electron Microscopy Labs (LAMEST) of the National Research Council.