Wu Shaohua, Duan Bin, Qin Xiaohong, Butcher Jonathan T
Key Laboratory of Textile Science & Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Textiles, Donghua University, No. 2999 North Renmin Road, Songjiang, Shanghai 201620, China; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA; Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine; Mary & Dick Holland Regenerative Medicine Program, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA.
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA; Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine; Mary & Dick Holland Regenerative Medicine Program, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA.
Acta Biomater. 2017 Sep 15;60:144-153. doi: 10.1016/j.actbio.2017.07.023. Epub 2017 Jul 18.
Polymeric hydrogels have great potential in soft biological micro-actuator applications. However, inappropriate micro-architecture, non-anisotropy, weak biomechanics, and inferior response behaviors limit their development. In this study, we designed and manufactured novel polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based hydrogel yarns composed with uniaxially aligned nanofibers. The nanofibrous hydrogel yarns possessed anisotropic architecture and robust mechanical properties with flexibility, and could be assembled into defined scaffold structures by subsequent processes. The as-prepared hydrogel yarns showed excellent pH response behaviors, with around 100% maximum length and 900% maximum diameter changes, and the pH response was completed within several seconds. Moreover, the hydrogel yarns displayed unique cell-responsive abilities to promote the cell adhesion, proliferation, and smooth muscle differentiation of human adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells (HADMSC). Chicken cardiomyocytes were further seeded onto our nanofibrous hydrogel yarns to engineer living cell-based microactuators. Our results demonstrated that the uniaxially aligned nanofibrous networks within the hydrogel yarns were the key characteristics leading to the anisotropic organization of cardiac cells, and improved sarcomere organization, mimicking the cardiomyocyte bundles in the native myocardium. The construct is capable of sustaining spontaneous cardiomyocyte pumping behaviors for 7days. Our PAN-based nanofibrous hydrogel yarns are attractive for creating linear microactuators with pH-response capacity and biological microactuators with cardiomyocyte-drivability.
A mechanically robust polyacrylonitrile-based nanofibrous hydrogel yarn is fabricated by using a modified electrospinning setup in combination with chemical modification processes. The as-prepared hydrogel yarn possesses a uniaxially aligned nanofiber microarchitecture and supports a rapid, pH-dependent expansion/contraction response within a few seconds. Embryonic cardiomyocytes-seeded hydrogel yarn improves the sarcomere organization and mimics the cardiomyocyte bundles in the native myocardium, which sustains spontaneous cardiomyocyte pumping behaviors. The nanofibrous hydrogel yarn has several advantages over traditional bulk hydrogel scaffolds in terms of robust biomechanics, anisotropic aligned architecture, and superior pH response behaviors. Our nanofibrous hydrogel yarn holds the potential to be developed into novel linear and biological microactuators for various biomedical applications.
聚合物水凝胶在软生物微致动器应用中具有巨大潜力。然而，不合适的微观结构、非各向异性、薄弱的生物力学性能以及较差的响应行为限制了它们的发展。在本研究中，我们设计并制造了由单轴排列纳米纤维组成的新型聚丙烯腈（PAN）基水凝胶纱线。这种纳米纤维水凝胶纱线具有各向异性结构和强大的机械性能以及柔韧性，并且可以通过后续工艺组装成特定的支架结构。所制备的水凝胶纱线表现出优异的pH响应行为，最大长度变化约为100%，最大直径变化为900%，且pH响应在几秒钟内即可完成。此外，水凝胶纱线展现出独特的细胞响应能力，可促进人脂肪来源间充质干细胞（HADMSC）的细胞黏附、增殖和平滑肌分化。进一步将鸡心肌细胞接种到我们的纳米纤维水凝胶纱线上以构建基于活细胞的微致动器。我们的结果表明，水凝胶纱线内的单轴排列纳米纤维网络是导致心肌细胞各向异性组织的关键特征，并改善了肌节组织，模拟了天然心肌中的心肌细胞束。该构建体能够维持心肌细胞自发泵血行为7天。我们的PAN基纳米纤维水凝胶纱线对于制造具有pH响应能力的线性微致动器和具有心肌细胞驱动能力的生物微致动器具有吸引力。
通过使用改进的静电纺丝装置结合化学改性工艺制备了一种机械性能强大的聚丙烯腈基纳米纤维水凝胶纱线。所制备的水凝胶纱线具有单轴排列的纳米纤维微观结构，并在几秒钟内支持快速的、依赖pH的膨胀/收缩响应。接种胚胎心肌细胞的水凝胶纱线改善了肌节组织，模拟了天然心肌中的心肌细胞束，维持了心肌细胞自发泵血行为。与传统的块状水凝胶支架相比，纳米纤维水凝胶纱线在强大的生物力学性能、各向异性排列结构和优异的pH响应行为方面具有多个优势。我们的纳米纤维水凝胶纱线有潜力被开发成用于各种生物医学应用的新型线性和生物微致动器。
