Application of PLGA/FGF-2 coaxial microfibers in spinal cord tissue engineering: an in vitro and in vivo investigation.

AIM: Scaffolds are a promising approach for spinal cord injury (SCI) treatment. FGF-2 is involved in tissue repair but is easily degradable and presents collateral effects in systemic administration. In order to address the stability issue and avoid the systemic effects, FGF-2 was encapsulated into core-shell microfibers by coaxial electrospinning and its in vitro and in vivo potential were studied. Materials & methods: The fibers were characterized by physicochemical and biological parameters. The scaffolds were implanted in a hemisection SCI rat model. Locomotor test was performed weekly for 6 weeks. After this time, histological analyses were performed and expression of nestin and GFAP was quantified by flow cytometry. Results: Electrospinning resulted in uniform microfibers with a core-shell structure, with a sustained liberation of FGF-2 from the fibers. The fibers supported PC12 cells adhesion and proliferation. Implanted scaffolds into SCI promoted locomotor recovery at 28 days after injury and reduced GFAP expression. CONCLUSION: These results indicate the potential of these microfibers in SCI tissue engineering. [Formula: see text].

The effect of sterilization methods on electronspun poly(lactide-co-glycolide) and subsequent adhesion efficiency of mesenchymal stem cells.

The sterilization of scaffolds is an essential step for tissue engineering in vitro and, mainly, clinical biomaterial use. However, this process can cause changes in the structure and surface of the scaffolds. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the effect of sterilization by ethanol, ultraviolet radiation (UVR) or antimicrobial solution (AMS) on poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) scaffolds produced by the electrospinning technique. The properties of nanofibers and the cellular adhesion of mesenchymal stem cells to the scaffolds were analyzed after the treatments. All methods generated sterile scaffolds but showed some kind of damage to the scaffolds. Ethanol and AMS caused changes in the morphology and scaffold dimensions, which were not observed when using the UVR method. However, UVR caused a greater reduction in polymeric molecular weight, which increased proportionally with exposure time of treatment. Nanofibers sterilized with AMS for 1 h and 2 h showed greater cellular adhesion than the other methods, demonstrating their potential as a method for sterilizing PLGA nanofibers.