Yanwei Tang

Antimicrobial electrospun nanofibers of cellulose acetate and polyester urethane composite for wound dressing

In this study, a series of nanofibrous membranes were prepared from cellulose acetate (CA) and polyester urethane (PEU) using coelectrospinning or blend-electrospinning. The drug release, in vitro antimicrobial activity and in vivo wound healing performance of the nanofiber membranes were evaluated for use as wound dressings. To prevent common clinical infections, an antimicrobial agent, polyhexamethylene biguanide (PHMB) was incorporated into the electrospun fibers. The presence of CA in the nanofiber membrane improved its hydrophilicity and permeability to air and moisture. CA fibers became slightly swollen upon contacting with liquid phase. CA not only increased the liquid uptake but also created a moist environment for the wound, which accelerated wound recovery. PHMB release dynamics of the membranes was controlled by the structure and component ratios of the membranes. The lower ratio of CA: PEU helped to preserve the physical and thermal properties of the membranes, and also reduced the burst release effectively and slowed down diffusion of PHMB during in vitro tests. The controlled-diffusion membranes exerted long-term antimicrobial effect for wound healing.

Electrospinning of nanofibres with parallel line surface texture for improvement of nerve cell growth

Nanofibres having a parallel line surface texture were electrospun from cellulose acetate butyrate solutions using a solvent mixture of acetone and N,N′-dimethylacetamide. The formation mechanism of the unusual surface feature was explored and attributed to the formation of voids on the jet surface at the early stage of electrospinning and subsequent elongation and solidification of the voids into a line surface structure. The fast evaporation of a highly volatile solvent, acetone, from the polymer solution was found to play a key role in the formation of surface voids, while the high viscosity of the residual solution after the solvent evaporation ensured the line surface to be maintained after the solidification. Based on this principle, nanofibres having a similar surface texture were also electrospun successfully from other polymers, such as cellulose acetate, polyvinylidene fluoride, poly(methyl methacrylate), polystyrene and poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropene), either from the same or from different solvent systems. Polarized Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to measure the polymer molecular orientation within nanofibres. Schwann cells were grown on both aligned and randomly oriented nanofibre mats. The parallel line surface texture assisted in the growth of Schwann cells especially at the early stage of cell culture regardless of the fibre orientation. In contrast, the molecular orientation within nanofibres showed little impact on the cell growth.

Layer-by-layer assembly of silica nanoparticles on 3D fibrous scaffolds: enhancement of osteoblast cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation.

Silica nanoparticles were applied onto the fiber surface of an interbonded three-dimensional polycaprolactone fibrous tissue scaffold by an electrostatic layer-by-layer self-assembly technique. The nanoparticle layer was found to improve the fiber wettability and surface roughness. Osteoblast cells were cultured on the fibrous scaffolds to evaluate the biological compatibility. The silica nanoparticle coated scaffold showed enhanced cell attachment, proliferation, and alkaline phosphatase activities. The overall results suggested that interbonded fibrous scaffold with silica nanoparticulate coating could be a promising scaffolding candidate for various applications in bone repair and regeneration.

Layer-by-layer assembly of antibacterial coating on interbonded 3D fibrous scaffolds and its cytocompatibility assessment†

Bonded fibrous matrices have shown great potential in tissue engineering because of their unique 3D structures and pore characteristics. For some applications, bacterial infections must be taken into account, and antibacterial function is highly desired. In this study, an antibacterial polymer, polyhexamethylene biguanide (PHMB), was applied onto the fiber surface of a bonded poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) fibrous matrix with the objective to achieve both strong antibacterial effect and good cell compatibility. The coatings were prepared by using an electrostatic layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly technique, which allowed the control of PHMB loading and coating uniformity on the fiber surface. The PHMB coating provided antibacterial activities, but had no toxicity on mammalian cells. This bonded PCL fibrous matrix with electrostatically self-assembled PHMB may provide a new antiinfective tissue scaffold for various biomedical applications.

Apatite-coated three-dimensional fibrous scaffolds and their osteoblast response.

Apatite was applied onto the fiber surface of an interbonded three-dimensional polycaprolactone fibrous scaffold through a vacuum nitrogen plasma pretreatment followed by immersion in a simulated body fluid. The plasma pretreatment improved the wettability and accelerated apatite deposition on the fiber surface. The apatite coating was proven to be biocompatible to fibroblast cells without any cytotoxicity. Two osteoblast cell lines, human fetal osteoblast cells (hFOB1.19) and human osteosarcoma cells (Saos-2), were used for evaluating the cell response of the fibrous matrices. The apatite coating showed enhanced cell attachment for both hFOB1.19 and Saos-2 cells. In comparison to the uncoated fibrous scaffolds, the apatite-coated fibrous matrix had an improved hFOB1.19 cell proliferation for at least 2 weeks. Enhanced cell differentiation was also observed on the apatite-coated fibrous matrix primarily on the third, 10th, and 14th days of culture. Saos-2 cells showed improved proliferation in the apatite-coated matrix mainly on days 3 and 14, but the differentiation was increased only on the third day of culture.