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Cruz-Maya I, Guarino V. 3D Scaffolds Fabrication via Bicomponent Microgels Assembly: Process Optimization and In Vitro Characterization. MICROMACHINES 2022; 13:1726. [PMID: 36296078 PMCID: PMC9607065 DOI: 10.3390/mi13101726] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2022] [Revised: 10/06/2022] [Accepted: 10/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
In the last decade, different technological approaches have been proposed for the fabrication of 3D models suitable to evaluate in vitro cell response. Among them, electro fluid dynamic atomization (EFDA) belonging to the family of electro-assisted technologies allows for the dropping of polysaccharides and/or proteins solutions to produce micro-scaled hydrogels or microgels with the peculiar features of hydrogel-like materials (i.e., biocompatibility, wettability, swelling). In this work, a method to fabricate 3D scaffolds by the assembly of bicomponent microgels made of sodium alginate and gelatin was proposed. As first step, optical and scanning electron microscopy with the support of image analysis enabled to explore the basic properties of single blocks in terms of correlation between particle morphology and process parameters (i.e., voltage, flow rate, electrode gap, and needle diameter). Chemical analysis via ninhydrin essays and FTIR analysis confirmed the presence of gelatin, mostly retained by physical interactions into the alginate network mediated by electrostatic forces. In vitro tests confirmed the effect of biochemical signals exerted by the protein on the biological response of hMSCs cultured onto the microgels surface. Hence, it is concluded that alginate/gelatin microgels assemblies can efficiently work as 3D scaffolds able to support in vitro cells functions, thus providing a friendly microenvironment to investigate in vitro cell interactions.
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Saracino E, Zuppolini S, Guarino V, Benfenati V, Borriello A, Zamboni R, Ambrosio L. Polyaniline nano-needles into electrospun bio active fibres support in vitro astrocyte response. RSC Adv 2021; 11:11347-11355. [PMID: 35423613 PMCID: PMC8695954 DOI: 10.1039/d1ra00596k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2021] [Accepted: 02/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent studies have proposed that the bioelectrical response of glial cells, called astrocytes, currently represents a key target for neuroregenerative purposes. Here, we propose the fabrication of electrospun nanofibres containing gelatin and polyaniline (PANi) synthesized in the form of nano-needles (PnNs) as electrically conductive scaffolds to support the growth and functionalities of primary astrocytes. We report a fine control of the morphological features in terms of fibre size and spatial distribution and fibre patterning, i.e. random or aligned fibre organization, as revealed by SEM- and TEM-supported image analysis. We demonstrate that the peculiar morphological properties of fibres - i.e., the fibre size scale and alignment - drive the adhesion, proliferation, and functional properties of primary cortical astrocytes. In addition, the gradual transmission of biochemical and biophysical signals due to the presence of PnNs combined with the presence of gelatin results in a permissive and guiding environment for astrocytes. Accordingly, the functional properties of astrocytes measured via cell patch-clamp experiments reveal that PnNs do not alter the bioelectrical properties of resting astrocytes, thus setting the scene for the use of PnN-loaded nanofibres as bioconductive platforms for interfacing astrocytes and controlling their bioelectrical properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emanuela Saracino
- Institute of Organic Synthesis and Photoreactivity (ISOF), National Research Council of Italy via Gobetti, 101 40129 Bologna Italy
| | - Simona Zuppolini
- Institute for Polymers, Composites and Biomaterials (IPCB), National Research Council of Italy Mostra d'Oltremare, Pad. 20, V. le J. F. Kennedy 54 Naples Italy
| | - Vincenzo Guarino
- Institute for Polymers, Composites and Biomaterials (IPCB), National Research Council of Italy Mostra d'Oltremare, Pad. 20, V. le J. F. Kennedy 54 Naples Italy
| | - Valentina Benfenati
- Institute of Organic Synthesis and Photoreactivity (ISOF), National Research Council of Italy via Gobetti, 101 40129 Bologna Italy
| | - Anna Borriello
- Institute for Polymers, Composites and Biomaterials (IPCB), National Research Council of Italy Mostra d'Oltremare, Pad. 20, V. le J. F. Kennedy 54 Naples Italy
| | - Roberto Zamboni
- Institute of Organic Synthesis and Photoreactivity (ISOF), National Research Council of Italy via Gobetti, 101 40129 Bologna Italy
| | - Luigi Ambrosio
- Institute for Polymers, Composites and Biomaterials (IPCB), National Research Council of Italy Mostra d'Oltremare, Pad. 20, V. le J. F. Kennedy 54 Naples Italy
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Zavan B, Gardin C, Guarino V, Rocca T, Cruz Maya I, Zanotti F, Ferroni L, Brunello G, Chachques JC, Ambrosio L, Gasbarro V. Electrospun PCL-Based Vascular Grafts: In Vitro Tests. NANOMATERIALS 2021; 11:nano11030751. [PMID: 33809791 PMCID: PMC8002398 DOI: 10.3390/nano11030751] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2021] [Revised: 02/17/2021] [Accepted: 03/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Electrospun fibers have attracted a lot of attention from researchers due to their several characteristics, such as a very thin diameter, three-dimensional topography, large surface area, flexible surface, good mechanical characteristics, suitable for widespread applications. Indeed, electro-spinning offers many benefits, such as great surface-to-volume ratio, adjustable porosity, and the ability of imitating the tissue extra-cellular matrix. METHODS we processed Poly ε-caprolactone (PCL) via electrospinning for the production of bilayered tubular scaffolds for vascular tissue engineering application. Endothelial cells and fibroblasts were seeded into the two side of the scaffolds: endothelial cells onto the inner side composed of PCL/Gelatin fibers able to mimic the inner surface of the vessels, and fibroblasts onto the outer side only exposing PCL fibers. Extracellular matrix production and organization has been performed by means of classical immunofluorescence against collagen type I fibers, Scanning Electron-Microscopy (SEM) has been performed in order to evaluated ultrastructural morphology, gene expression by means gene expression has been performed to evaluate the phenotype of endothelial cells and fibroblasts. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION results confirmed that both cells population are able to conserve their phenotype colonizing the surface supporting the hypothesis that PCL scaffolds based on electrospun fibers should be a good candidate for vascular surgery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Zavan
- GVM Care & Research, Maria Cecilia Hospital, 48033 Cotignola, Italy; (C.G.); (L.F.)
- Translational Medicine Department, University of Ferrara, 44123 Ferrara, Italy;
- Correspondence:
| | - Chiara Gardin
- GVM Care & Research, Maria Cecilia Hospital, 48033 Cotignola, Italy; (C.G.); (L.F.)
| | - Vincenzo Guarino
- Institute of Polymers, Composites, and Biomaterials, National Research Council of Italy, Mostra d’Oltremare, Pad.20, V.le J.F.Kennedy 54, 80125 Naples, Italy; (V.G.); (I.C.M.); (L.A.)
| | - Tiberio Rocca
- Division of Internal Medicine, St. Anna Hospital, 44123 Ferrara, Italy; (T.R.); (V.G.)
| | - Iriczalli Cruz Maya
- Institute of Polymers, Composites, and Biomaterials, National Research Council of Italy, Mostra d’Oltremare, Pad.20, V.le J.F.Kennedy 54, 80125 Naples, Italy; (V.G.); (I.C.M.); (L.A.)
| | - Federica Zanotti
- Translational Medicine Department, University of Ferrara, 44123 Ferrara, Italy;
| | - Letizia Ferroni
- GVM Care & Research, Maria Cecilia Hospital, 48033 Cotignola, Italy; (C.G.); (L.F.)
| | - Giulia Brunello
- Department of Neurosciences, Dentistry Section, University of Padova, Via Giustiniani 2, 35128 Padova, Italy;
| | - Juan-Carlos Chachques
- Laboratory of Biosurgical Research (Alain Carpentier Foundation), Pompidu Hospital, University Paris Descartes, 75015 Paris, France;
| | - Luigi Ambrosio
- Institute of Polymers, Composites, and Biomaterials, National Research Council of Italy, Mostra d’Oltremare, Pad.20, V.le J.F.Kennedy 54, 80125 Naples, Italy; (V.G.); (I.C.M.); (L.A.)
| | - Vincenzo Gasbarro
- Division of Internal Medicine, St. Anna Hospital, 44123 Ferrara, Italy; (T.R.); (V.G.)
- Department of Medical Sciences, Ferrara University, 44123 Ferrara, Italy
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Structural and functional properties of astrocytes on PCL based electrospun fibres. MATERIALS SCIENCE & ENGINEERING. C, MATERIALS FOR BIOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS 2021; 118:111363. [DOI: 10.1016/j.msec.2020.111363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2020] [Revised: 07/03/2020] [Accepted: 08/03/2020] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
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Short-Term Degradation of Bi-Component Electrospun Fibers: Qualitative and Quantitative Evaluations via AFM Analysis. J Funct Biomater 2018; 9:jfb9020027. [PMID: 29601499 PMCID: PMC6023316 DOI: 10.3390/jfb9020027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2018] [Revised: 02/28/2018] [Accepted: 03/20/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Electrospun polymeric fibers are currently used as 3D models for in vitro applications in biomedical areas, i.e., tissue engineering, cell and drug delivery. The high customization of the electrospinning process offers numerous opportunities to manipulate and control surface area, fiber diameter, and fiber density to evaluate the response of cells under different morphological and/or biochemical stimuli. The aim of this study was to investigate—via atomic force microscopy (AFM)—the chemical and morphological changes in bi-component electrospun fibers (BEFs) during the in vitro degradation process using a biological medium. BEFs were fabricated by electrospinning a mixture of synthetic-polycaprolactone (PCL)-and natural polymers (gelatin) into a binary solution. During the hydrolytic degradation of protein, no significant remarkable effects were recognized in terms of fiber integrity. However, increases in surface roughness as well as a decrease in fiber diameter as a function of the degradation conditions were detected. We suggest that morphological and chemical changes due to the local release of gelatin positively influence cell behavior in culture, in terms of cell adhesion and spreading, thus working to mimic the native microenvironment of natural tissues.
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