Nanostructured surface of electrospun PCL/dECM fibres treated with oxygen plasma for tissue engineering

Abstract

Recently, various biomimetic scaffolds using a decellularised extracellular matrix (dECM) have been applied in tissue regeneration applications because dECM consists of highly bioactive fibrous proteins and polysaccharides. Here, to enhance the biofunctionality of the dECM surface, homogeneously roughened nanoscale patterns (R_a = 524 ± 66 nm) on the surface of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL)-based dECM were developed by selecting optimal plasma treatment conditions (power: 15 W, oxygen flow rate: 5 standard cubic cm per min, and total plasma exposure time: 4 h). To determine its efficiency as a biomedical scaffold, the plasma-treated PCL/dECM was evaluated for various cellular activities, metabolic activity and osteogenic differentiation, and compared with two controls: plasma-treated pure PCL fibres and an untreated PCL/dECM fibrous structure. Significant increases in cell viability (>1.5-fold) and calcium mineralisation (>1.8-fold) were observed for the nanoscale-roughened PCL/dECM fibrous structure compared with the untreated PCL/dECM fibrous mat. Based on the results, we propose a new surface model of a surface-modified biomedical scaffold, which can significantly promote cell activities at the interface between cells and the surface to regenerate hard tissues.