Elaboration and mechanical properties of elastomeric fibrous scaffolds based on crosslinked poly(glycerol sebacate) and cyclodextrin for soft tissue engineering

Abstract

Poly(glycerol sebacate) (PGS) is a promising material designed for soft tissue engineering. Several examples of its use to prepare electrospun scaffolds can be found in the literature. However, the fabrication of nanofibrous scaffolds based on crosslinked PGS remains challenging because of its thermoset nature. Here, we propose a new method to electrospin PGS in blend with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPβCD) as carrier molecules. After electrospinning, the PGS prepolymers were crosslinked by thermal treatment under vacuum, resulting in elastomeric fibers. Finally, unreacted molecules were removed by immersion of the fibers in water. Our PGS/HPβCD-based nanofibrous scaffolds are good candidates for soft tissue engineering with a Young's modulus of 2 MPa and strain at break of 390% in the dry state, reaching 120 to 170 kPa and 70% in the wet state.