Department of Chemistry G. Ciamician, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
Acta Biomater. 2011 Apr;7(4):1702-9. doi: 10.1016/j.actbio.2010.11.021. Epub 2010 Nov 21.
The development of suitable biomimetic three-dimensional scaffolds is a fundamental requirement of tissue engineering. This paper presents the first successful attempt to obtain electrospun gelatin nanofibers cross-linked with a low toxicity agent, genipin, and able to retain the original nanofiber morphology after water exposure. The optimized procedure involves an electrospinning solution containing 30 wt.% gelatin in 60/40 acetic acid/water (v/v) and a small amount of genipin, followed by further cross-linking of the as-electrospun mats in 5% genipin solution for 7 days, rinsing in phosphate-buffered saline and then air drying at 37°C. The results of scanning electron microscopy investigations indicated that the cross-linked nanofibers were defect free and very regular and they also maintained the original morphology after exposure to water. Genipin addition to the electrospinning solution dramatically reduced the extensibility of the as-electrospun mats, which displayed further remarkable improvements in elastic modulus and stress at break after successive cross-linking up to values of about 990 and 21 MPa, respectively. The results of the preliminary in vitro tests carried out using vascular wall mesenchymal stem cells indicated good cell viability and adhesion to the gelatin scaffolds.
合适的仿生三维支架的开发是组织工程的基本要求。本文首次成功尝试获得用低毒试剂京尼平交联的电纺明胶纳米纤维，并且在暴露于水后能够保留原始纳米纤维形态。优化的程序涉及包含 30wt％明胶的电纺溶液在 60/40 乙酸/水（v/v）中，以及少量京尼平，随后在 5％京尼平溶液中对电纺垫进一步交联 7 天，在磷酸盐缓冲盐水冲洗，然后在 37°C 下空气干燥。扫描电子显微镜研究的结果表明，交联的纳米纤维无缺陷且非常规则，并且在暴露于水后仍保持原始形态。京尼平添加到电纺溶液中极大地降低了电纺垫的可扩展性，在连续交联后，弹性模量和断裂应力分别显著提高到约 990 和 21MPa。使用血管壁间充质干细胞进行的初步体外测试的结果表明，细胞活力良好，并且能够很好地粘附到明胶支架上。
