J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, Biomedical Sciences Building JG-56, 1275 Center Drive, Gainesville, FL, 32611-6131, USA.
Department of Physiological Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Biotechnol Lett. 2024 Jun;46(3):469-481. doi: 10.1007/s10529-024-03469-0. Epub 2024 Feb 17.
Based on the clinical need for grafts for vascular tissue regeneration, our group developed a customizable scaffold derived from the human amniotic membrane. Our approach consists of rolling the decellularized amniotic membrane around a mandrel to form a multilayered tubular scaffold with tunable diameter and wall thickness. Herein, we aimed to investigate if silica nanoparticles (SiNP) could enhance the adhesion of the amnion layers within these rolled grafts.
To test this, we assessed the structural integrity and mechanical properties of SiNP-treated scaffolds. Mechanical tests were repeated after six months to evaluate adhesion stability in aqueous environments.
Our results showed that the rolled SiNP-treated scaffolds maintained their tubular shape upon hydration, while non-treated scaffolds collapsed. By scanning electron microscopy, SiNP-treated scaffolds presented more densely packed layers than untreated controls. Mechanical analysis showed that SiNP treatment increased the scaffold's tensile strength up to tenfold in relation to non-treated controls and changed the mechanism of failure from interfacial slipping to single-point fracture. The nanoparticles reinforced the scaffolds both at the interface between two distinct layers and within each layer of the extracellular matrix. Finally, SiNP-treated scaffolds significantly increased the suture pullout force in comparison to untreated controls.
Our study demonstrated that SiNP prevents the unraveling of a multilayered extracellular matrix graft while improving the scaffolds' overall mechanical properties. In addition to the generation of a robust biomaterial for vascular tissue regeneration, this novel layering technology is a promising strategy for a number of bioengineering applications.
基于对血管组织再生用移植物的临床需求，我们小组开发了一种源自人羊膜的定制化支架。我们的方法包括将脱细胞羊膜卷绕在芯棒上，形成具有可调节直径和壁厚的多层管状支架。在此，我们旨在研究二氧化硅纳米粒子（SiNP）是否可以增强这些卷绕移植物中羊膜层的粘附力。
为了验证这一点，我们评估了 SiNP 处理的支架的结构完整性和机械性能。重复机械测试 6 个月，以评估在水介质环境中的粘附稳定性。
我们的结果表明，水合作用后，卷绕的 SiNP 处理的支架保持其管状形状，而未经处理的支架则坍塌。通过扫描电子显微镜观察，SiNP 处理的支架比未处理的对照组具有更紧密堆积的层。机械分析表明，SiNP 处理将支架的拉伸强度提高了十倍以上，与未处理的对照组相比，并且改变了失效机制，从界面滑动变为单点断裂。纳米颗粒不仅在两个不同层之间的界面处，而且在细胞外基质的每一层内都增强了支架。最后，与未经处理的对照组相比，SiNP 处理的支架显著增加了缝合线拔出力。
我们的研究表明，SiNP 可以防止多层细胞外基质移植物的解开，同时提高支架的整体机械性能。除了为血管组织再生生成一种坚固的生物材料外，这种新型分层技术还是许多生物工程应用的有前途的策略。
