Department of Functional Materials in Medicine and Dentistry and Bavarian Polymer Institute, Julius Maximilians University of Würzburg, Pleicherwall 2, Würzburg, 97070, Germany.
Department of Veterinary Science, Utrecht University, Yalelaan 1, Utrecht, 3584 CL, Netherlands.
Macromol Biosci. 2021 Jul;21(7):e2000439. doi: 10.1002/mabi.202000439. Epub 2021 May 5.
In this study, well-defined, 3D arrays of air-suspended melt electrowritten fibers are made from medical grade poly(ɛ-caprolactone) (PCL). Low processing temperatures, lower voltages, lower ambient temperature, increased collector distance, and high collector speeds all aid to direct-write suspended fibers that can span gaps of several millimeters between support structures. Such processing parameters are quantitatively determined using a "wedge-design" melt electrowritten test frame to identify the conditions that increase the suspension probability of long-distance fibers. All the measured parameters impact the probability that a fiber is suspended over multimillimeter distances. The height of the suspended fibers can be controlled by a concurrently fabricated fiber wall and the 3D suspended PCL fiber arrays investigated with early post-natal mouse dorsal root ganglion explants. The resulting Schwann cell and neurite outgrowth extends substantial distances by 21 d, following the orientation of the suspended fibers and the supporting walls, often generating circular whorls of high density Schwann cells between the suspended fibers. This research provides a design perspective and the fundamental parametric basis for suspending individual melt electrowritten fibers into a form that facilitates cell culture.
在这项研究中，采用医用级聚己内酯（PCL）制备了具有良好定义的 3D 气悬浮式熔融纺丝纤维阵列。低加工温度、低电压、低环境温度、增加收集器距离和提高收集器速度都有助于直接写入可以跨越支撑结构之间数毫米间隙的悬空纤维。使用“楔形设计”熔融纺丝测试框架定量确定了这些处理参数，以确定增加长距离纤维悬浮概率的条件。所有测量的参数都影响纤维在多毫米距离上悬浮的概率。悬空纤维的高度可以通过同时制造的纤维壁来控制，并且可以对 3D 悬空 PCL 纤维阵列进行研究，使用早期产后小鼠背根神经节外植体进行研究。施万细胞和神经突生长在 21 天后沿着悬空纤维和支撑壁的方向延伸了很长的距离，常常在悬空纤维之间形成密集的 Schwann 细胞的圆形漩涡。这项研究为悬浮单个熔融纺丝纤维提供了设计视角和基本参数基础，使其能够更便于细胞培养。
