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Abstract: Poly(ethylene glycol ‐co‐ DL‐lactide) (PELA) is a biodegradable polymer, which has attracted considerable interest in the area of drug release due to its potential as drug carrier. Drug‐loaded electrospun PELA fibers tend to be a promising candidate for local chemotherapy application in the future. In this study, curcumin was encapsulated into PELA fibers (Cur@PELA) for drug delivery via electrospinning. It was found that the shrinkage ratio, porosity, water absorption and water contact angle of Cur@PELA fiber membrane could be changed by heat treatment with different heating temperature (45°C, 50°C) and heating time (5 min, 10 min, 20 min). Moreover, the release rate of curcumin from Cur@PELA fibers was influenced by the porosity, water absorption and water contact angle of the drug‐loaded membrane. Heat treatment is thought to be a novel method to control release of drug from electrospun PELA fibers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrospun gelatin(Gel) nanofibers scaffold has such defects as poor mechanical property and quick degradation due to high solubility. In this study, thein situcross-linked electrospinning technique was used for the production of gelatin nanofibers. Deionized water was chosen as the spinning solvent and graphite oxide (GO) was chosen as the enhancer. The morphological structure, porosity, thermal property, moisture absorption, and moisture retention performance, hydrolysis resistance, mechanical property, and biocompatibility of the produced nanofibers were investigated. Compared within situcross-linked gelatin nanofibers scaffold,in situcross-linked Gel-GO nanofibers scaffold has the following features: (1) the hydrophilicity, moisture absorption, and moisture retention performance slightly reduce, while the hydrolysis resistance is improved; (2) the breaking strength, breaking elongation, and Young’s modulus are significantly improved; (3) the porosity slightly reduces while the biocompatibility considerably increases. Thein situcross-linked Gel-GO nanofibers scaffold is likely to be applied in such fields as drug delivery and scaffold for skin tissue engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silk fibroin–poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) fibrous membranes were electrospun by varying the weight ratios for silk fibroin to poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid). The hydrophilicity, mechanical property, and biodegradability of the fibrous in vitro were evaluated. Contact angle test demonstrated that the hydrophilicity of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) fibrous membrane could be improved by introducing silk fibroin ingredient. Mechanical test showed that the strain–elongation performances of silk fibroin–poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) fibrous can be controlled by changing the silk fibroin percentage. 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium assay test showed that the silk fibroin–poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) 2:8 fibrous enhanced the nerve cell proliferation compared to poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) fibrous. Silk fibroin–poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) fibrous membrane has been made into the nerve guidance conduit by the reeling and the sewing processing. The poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nerve guidance conduit and silk fibroin–poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nerve guidance conduit were implanted into a 10-mm sciatic nerve defect part of mice for nerve regeneration and the nerve regenerated at 12 weeks. Nerve regeneration test showed that the regenerated nerve in the silk fibroin–poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nerve guidance conduit group was more organized and mature than that in the poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nerve guidance conduit group. The results suggest that the silk fibroin–poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (2:8) nerve guidance conduits have potential applications in nerve regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Injuries of the peripheral nerve occur commonly in various people of different ages and backgrounds. Generally, surgical repairing, such as suturing the transected nerve stumps and transplanting an autologous nerve graft, is the only choice. However, tissue engineering provides an alternative strategy for regeneration of neural context. Functional nerve conduits with three dimensional (3D) support and guidance structure are badly in need. Herein, a uniform PLLA nanofiber yarn constructed by unidirectionally aligned nanofibers was fabricated via a dual spinneret system, which was subsequently incorporated into a hollow poly(l-lactide-co-caprolactone) (P(LLA-CL)) tube to form a nerve conduit with inner aligned texture. The biocompatibility of the poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) yarn was assessed by in vitro experiments. Schwann cells (SCs) presented a better proliferation rate and spread morphology of the PLLA yarn than that of PLLA film. Confocal images indicated that the axon spreads along the length of the yarn. SCs were also cultured in the conduit. The data indicated that SCs proliferated well in the conduit and distributed dispersedly throughout the entire lumen. These results demonstrated the potential of the PLLA nanofiber yarn conduit in nerve regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrospun gelatin(Gel) nanofibers scaffold has such defects as poor mechanical property and quick degradation due to high solubility. In this study, the in situ cross-linked electrospinning technique was used for the production of gelatin nanofibers. Deionized water was chosen as the spinning solvent and graphite oxide (GO) was chosen as the enhancer. The morphological structure, porosity, thermal property, moisture absorption, and moisture retention performance, hydrolysis resistance, mechanical property, and biocompatibility of the produced nanofibers were investigated. Compared with in situ cross-linked gelatin nanofibers scaffold, in situ cross-linked Gel-GO nanofibers scaffold has the following features: (1) the hydrophilicity, moisture absorption, and moisture retention performance slightly reduce, while the hydrolysis resistance is improved; (2) the breaking strength, breaking elongation, and Young's modulus are significantly improved; (3) the porosity slightly reduces while the biocompatibility considerably increases. The in situ cross-linked Gel-GO nanofibers scaffold is likely to be applied in such fields as drug delivery and scaffold for skin tissue engineering.