Issue 13, 2018

Hydro-nanofibrous mesh deep cell penetration: a strategy based on peeling of electrospun coaxial nanofibers

Abstract

A two-step strategy for coaxial electrospinning and postelectrospinning is an effective method for fabricating superfine nanofibers composed of highly swellable hydrogels. Alginate and poly(ε-caprolactone) [PCL] were coelectrospun via fibrous meshes with a coaxial nozzle; alginate at the core was subsequently cross-linked in calcium chloride solution. The PCL sheath was removed from the meshes by repeated organic-phase washing. The peeling process was monitored by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry, and the complete removal of the PCL outer layers was confirmed by the thinning of the fiber volume. The obtained alginate hydronanofiber showed extreme water-swellability and mass erosion depending on the degree of cross-linking. We also measured the nanoscale and macroscale mechanical properties of a single nanofiber and of the whole mesh by atomic force microscopy and rheometry. Quantitative analysis of nanomechanical properties indicated that the hydronanofiber with higher cross-linking density had higher stiffness and Derjaguin–Müller–Toporov modulus. Cells laid on the mesh and the vertical infiltration distance were visualized and quantified by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Cells on the mesh with higher cross-linking density infiltrated deeply to the bottom of the mesh. Thus, hydrogel-like nanofibrous meshes are versatile matrices allowing for deep infiltration of cells throughout the mesh via manipulation of the mechanical properties of the nanofiber.

Graphical abstract: Hydro-nanofibrous mesh deep cell penetration: a strategy based on peeling of electrospun coaxial nanofibers

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
10 Jul 2017
Accepted
26 Feb 2018
First published
26 Feb 2018

Nanoscale, 2018,10, 6051-6059

Hydro-nanofibrous mesh deep cell penetration: a strategy based on peeling of electrospun coaxial nanofibers

Y. J. Son, H. S. Kim, W. Mao, J. B. Park, D. Lee, H. Lee and H. S. Yoo, Nanoscale, 2018, 10, 6051 DOI: 10.1039/C7NR04928E

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements