Li Yixin, Kang Le, Cao Kai
Key Laboratory of Textile Science & Technology of Ministry of Education, College of Textiles, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China.
Polymers (Basel). 2025 Jul 30;17(15):2086. doi: 10.3390/polym17152086.
Hydrogel is widely used as a scaffolding material for tissue engineering due to its excellent cytocompatibility and potential for biofunctionalization. However, its poor mechanical property limits its further application. Fabrication of fiber-reinforced hydrogel composite scaffolds has emerged as a solution to overcome this problem. However, existing strategies usually produce nonporous composite scaffolds, where the interfiber pores are completely filled with hydrogel. This design can hinder oxygen and nutrient exchange between seeded cells and the culture medium, thereby limiting cell invasion and colonization within the scaffold. In this study, sodium alginate (SA) hydrogel was exclusively grafted onto the surface of the constituent fibers of the melt electrowritten scaffold while preserving the porous structure. The grafted hydrogel amount and pore size were precisely controlled by adjusting the SA concentration and the crosslinking ratio (SA: CaCl). Experimental results demonstrated that the porous composite scaffolds exhibited superior swelling capacity, degradation ratio, mechanical properties, and biocompatibility. Notably, at an SA concentration of 0.5% and a crosslinking ratio of 2:1, the porous composite scaffold achieved optimal cell adhesion and viability. This study highlights the critical importance of preserving porous structures in composite scaffolds for tissue-engineering applications.
水凝胶因其优异的细胞相容性和生物功能化潜力而被广泛用作组织工程的支架材料。然而，其较差的机械性能限制了它的进一步应用。纤维增强水凝胶复合支架的制造已成为克服这一问题的解决方案。然而，现有的策略通常会产生无孔复合支架，其中纤维间孔隙完全被水凝胶填充。这种设计会阻碍接种细胞与培养基之间的氧气和营养物质交换，从而限制细胞在支架内的侵袭和定植。在本研究中，海藻酸钠（SA）水凝胶专门接枝到熔体静电纺丝支架的组成纤维表面，同时保留多孔结构。通过调整SA浓度和交联比（SA:CaCl）精确控制接枝水凝胶的量和孔径。实验结果表明，多孔复合支架具有优异的溶胀能力、降解率、机械性能和生物相容性。值得注意的是，在SA浓度为0.5%和交联比为2:1时，多孔复合支架实现了最佳的细胞粘附和活力。本研究强调了在组织工程应用的复合支架中保留多孔结构的至关重要性。
