Biomimetic hybrid scaffold consisting of co-electrospun collagen and PLLCL for 3D cell culture

Electrospun collagen is commonly used as a scaffold in tissue engineering applications since it mimics the content and morphology of native extracellular matrix (ECM) well. This report describes “toxic solvent free” fabrication of electrospun hybrid scaffold consisting of Collagen (Col) and Poly( l -lactide-co-e-caprolactone) (PLLCL) for three-dimensional (3D) cell culture. Biomimetic hybrid scaffold was fabricated via co-spinning approach where simultaneous electrospinning of PLLCL and Collagen was mediated by polymer sacrificing agent Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). Acidified aqueous solution of PVP was used to solubilize collagen without using toxic solvents for electrospinning, and then PVP was readily removed by rinsing in water. Mechanical characterizations, protein adsorption, as well as biodegradation analysis have been conducted to investigate feasibility of biomimetic hybrid scaffold for 3D cell culture applications. Electrospun biomimetic hybrid scaffold, which has 3D-network structure with 300–450 nm fiber diameters, was found to be maximizing cell adhesion through assisting NIH 3T3 mouse fibroblast cells. 3D cell culture studies confirmed that presence of collagen in biomimetic hybrid scaffold have created a major impact on cell proliferation compared to conventional 2D systems on long-term, also cell viability increased with the increasing amount of collagen.