Biomimetic electrospun PVDF/self-assembling peptide piezoelectric scaﬀolds for neural stem cell transplantation in neural tissue engineering

RSC Advances, 2024 · DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/d4ra02309a · Published: June 29, 2024

Simple Explanation

This study focuses on creating supportive structures, called scaffolds, using a mix of a special plastic (PVDF) and self-assembling peptides (SAPs). These scaffolds are designed to help repair spinal cord injuries by encouraging the growth of neural stem cells (NSCs). The scaffolds are made using a process called electrospinning, which creates very thin fibers. The researchers found that adding certain substances, like SDS and SAPs, helped create more uniform and thinner fibers, which are better for cell growth. The study also showed that NSCs grown on these modified PVDF scaffolds grew well and turned into different types of nerve cells. Aligning the fibers in the scaffold also helped to guide the growth of the cells in a specific direction.

Study Duration

7 DIV

Participants

Murine neural stem cells (mNSCs)

Evidence Level

In vitro studies

Key Findings

1
Adding SDS and SAPs to electrospun PVDF scaffolds results in thinner, more uniform fibers, enhancing the electroactive phases.
2
Aligned PVDF scaffolds promote a higher degree of cell orientation compared to randomly oriented ones, influencing scaffold topography.
3
NSCs seeded on electrospun PVDF with additives exhibited desirable proliferation and differentiation compared to the gold standard, Cultrex.

Research Summary

This study successfully identified and characterized electrospun PVDF scaﬀolds conducive to nervous cell growth, highlighting their potential for spinal cord injury regeneration therapies. The addition of SDS and SAPs, as an anionic surfactant and bioactive agent respectively, combined with the use of a rotating collector, resulted in uniform, ner bers with higher alignment and increased hydrophilicity Despite the challenge of larger pores potentially hampering cell survival and axon length, aligned scaﬀolds were shown to promote a higher degree of cell orientation due to the nano- and microber alignment.

Practical Implications

Spinal Cord Injury Treatment

Electrospun PVDF scaffolds may be used in therapies for spinal cord injury regeneration.

Enhanced Cell Growth

The electroactive and biomimetic properties of these scaffolds enhance cell proliferation, viability, and differentiation.

Tailored Architectures

The ability to tailor scaffold architecture opens new possibilities for neural tissue engineering applications.

Study Limitations

1
Larger pores in aligned scaffolds potentially hampering cell survival and axon length.
2
The study is limited to in vitro experiments, and in vivo studies are needed to confirm the findings.
3
Further research is needed to explore other functionalized peptide molecules to enhance scaffold multifunctionality.

Your Feedback

Was this summary helpful?

Back to Biomedical