Design, development and characterisation of an optimised scaffold to enhance cell proliferation for tissue repair

Abstract

Scaffolds are implanted to spur the regeneration of damaged tissues. The inappropriate construction of scaffolds laden with cells is not efficient. The optimisation of the scaffolds’ constituents is essential for tissue repair. In this study, a scaffold embedded with Raloxifene drug was optimised via Response Surface Methodology (RSM), targeting controlled cell proliferation. The independent variables for RSM (fibronectin, collagen I, glutaraldehyde, and Raloxifene) were screened in Swiss target prediction software (probability ≥99%) to optimise dependent variables (porosity, cell viability, degradation, and swelling) by ANOVA and characterised with FTIR, SEM and contact angle measurement. The scaffold was tested for antimicrobial property, and proliferation and attachment of mouse mesenchymal stem cells. The ANOVA analysis with p value ≤ 0.0001 suggested the optimal concentration of biomaterials and drugs. The optimised scaffold displayed 80% porosity with pore size 33 ± 3 µm. We also observed significant cell attachment and proliferation (p value ≤ 0.05) in optimised scaffold. The scaffold may be further evaluated for its potential for tissue repair.

Keywords:

• Response surface methodology
• mesenchymal stem cells
• sustained drug release
• tissue repair

Acknowledgements

Authors would like to thank Director, INMAS, DRDO, Delhi, for continuous encouragement. Authors acknowledge Dr. Amit Tyagi for FTIR, Mr. Harsh (Delhi University) for SEM Facility, Mr. Balram (NIT Jalandhar) for contact angle measurement Dr. Navneet sharma, Mr. Nishant Tyagi and Ms Kirtida Gambhir are acknowledged for their constant support and guidance. Mr. Subodh Kumar, in particular, acknowledges CSIR, India, for fellowship.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Not applicable

Consent for publication

Consent of publication has been obtained.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Author contributions

Concept, experiment, data analysis, and drafting by Subodh Kumar and Yogesh Kumar Verma; Experiments were performed by Somya Chaaudhary, and Chanakya Lahiri; Data were analyzed by Prateek Paul.

Research involving human participants and/or animals

Not applicable.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Data availability statement

All data generated or analysed during this study are included with this published article and its supplementary information files.

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), India.