Electrospun nanofibers of collagen-chitosan and P(LLA-CL) for tissue engineering

Abstract

Electrospun nanofibers could be used to mimic the nanofibrous structure of the extracellular matrix (ECM) in native tissue. In tissue engineering, the ECM could be used as tissue engineering scaffold to solve tissue engineering problems. In this paper, poly(L-lactid-co-ε-caprolactone) [P(LLA-CL)] nanofibers and collagen-chitosan complex nanofibers were fabricated by electrospinning. Results of the experiments showed that the mechanical properties of the collagenchitosan complex nanofibers varied with the collagen content in the complex. It was also found that the biodegradability of P(LLA-CL) nanofibers was faster than its membrane and that smooth muscle cells (SMC) grow faster on collagen nanofibers than on P(LLA-CL) nanofibers.

Keywords

nanofiber, electrospinning, collagen, P(LLA-CL), chitosan, tissue engineering