Fabrication of poly (ϵ-caprolactone) microfiber scaffolds with varying topography and mechanical properties for stem cell-based tissue engineering applications

Abstract

Highly porous poly (ϵ-caprolactone) microfiber scaffolds can be fabricated using electrospinning for tissue engineering applications. Melt electrospinning produces such scaffolds by direct deposition of a polymer melt instead of dissolving the polymer in a solvent as performed during solution electrospinning. The objective of this study was to investigate the significant parameters associated with the melt electrospinning process that influence fiber diameter and scaffold morphology, including processing temperature, collection distance, applied, voltage and nozzle size. The mechanical properties of these microfiber scaffolds varied with microfiber diameter. Additionally, the porosity of scaffolds was determined by combining experimental data with mathematical modeling. To test the cytocompatability of these fibrous scaffolds, we seeded neural progenitors derived from murine R1 embryonic stem cell lines onto these scaffolds, where they could survive, migrate, and differentiate into neurons; demonstrating the potential of these melt electrospun scaffolds for tissue engineering applications.

Keywords:

• melt electrospinning
• microfibers
• micro structure
• scaffolds
• neural tissue engineering
• stem cells

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge support from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Discovery Grants. They would also like to acknowledge the Advanced Microscopy Facility at the University of Victoria.