A 3D Electroactive Polypyrrole-Collagen Fibrous Scaffold for Tissue Engineering

Polymers

Soh-Zeom Yow³  Tze Han Lim¹  Evelyn K. F. Yim²  Chwee Teck Lim² 

[1] Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore, 2 Jalan Bukit Merah, Singapore 169547, Singapore; E-Mail:;Division of Bioengineering, National University of Singapore, 9 Engineering Drive 1, Singapore 117576, Singapore; E-Mails:;Graduate Program in Bioengineering, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 28 Medical Drive, Singapore 117456, Singapore; E-Mail:

关键词: polypyrrole;    collagen;    electrical stimulation;    mesenchymal stem cells;    fibrous scaffold;    electroactive scaffold;   

DOI  :  10.3390/polym3010527

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Fibers that can provide topographical, biochemical and electrical cues would be attractive for directing the differentiation of stem cells into electro-responsive cells such as neuronal or muscular cells. Here we report on the fabrication of polypyrrole-incorporated collagen-based fibers via interfacial polyelectrolyte complexation (IPC). The mean ultimate tensile strength of the fibers is 304.0 ± 61.0 MPa and the Young's Modulus is 10.4 ± 4.3 GPa. Human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) are cultured on the fibers in a proliferating medium and stimulated with an external electrical pulse generator for 5 and 10 days. The effects of polypyrrole in the fiber system can be observed, with hMSCs adopting a neuronal-like morphology at day 10, and through the upregulation of neural markers, such as noggin, MAP2, neurofilament, β tubulin III and nestin. This study demonstrates the potential of this fiber system as an attractive 3D scaffold for tissue engineering, where collagen is present on the fiber surface for cellular adhesion, and polypyrrole is encapsulated within the fiber for enhanced electrical communication in cell-substrate and cell-cell interactions.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2011 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.