Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Roosevelt Rd., Sec. 4, Taipei 106, Taiwan.
Biofabrication. 2013 Sep;5(3):035008. doi: 10.1088/1758-5082/5/3/035008. Epub 2013 Jul 9.
Electrospun fibers of natural polymers are desirable for biomedical applications such as tissue engineering. Crosslinking of electrospun fibers of natural polymers is needed to prevent dissolution in water and to enhance mechanical strength. In this study, an in situ UV-crosslinking method was developed for crosslinking of gelatin electrospun fibers (GESFs) and water-soluble synthetic polymers. A mixture of gelatin and phenylazide-conjugated poly(acrylic acids) was electrospun under UV irradiation. The UV-crosslinked GESFs were not dissolved in water with improved mechanical strength. Compared to traditional crosslinking by glutaraldehyde vapor, the GESFs crosslinked by our method are superior in terms of retention of GESF morphology, uniform crosslinking throughout the fibers, low cytotoxic and retention of biofunctionality. L929 cells grew better on the UV-crosslinked GESF scaffolds compared to glutaraldehyde-crosslinked ones. Furthermore, bioactive nanoparticles, e.g. hydroxyapatite, could be incorporated into GESFs for enhancing osteoconductivity, which possess a great potential in bone tissue engineering.
天然聚合物的静电纺纤维在组织工程等生物医学应用中是理想的。为了防止在水中溶解和提高机械强度，需要对天然聚合物的静电纺纤维进行交联。本研究开发了一种用于天然聚合物静电纺纤维（GESF）和水溶性合成聚合物的原位 UV 交联方法。在 UV 照射下，将明胶和苯甲酰叠氮化物接枝聚（丙烯酸）的混合物进行静电纺丝。UV 交联的 GESF 不溶于水，机械强度得到提高。与传统的戊二醛蒸气交联相比，我们的方法交联的 GESF 在保持 GESF 形态、纤维内均匀交联、低细胞毒性和保持生物功能性方面更具优势。与戊二醛交联的支架相比，L929 细胞在 UV 交联的 GESF 支架上生长得更好。此外，生物活性纳米颗粒，如羟基磷灰石，可以掺入 GESF 中以提高骨传导性，这在骨组织工程中具有很大的潜力。
