Bladder Tissue Engineering Using Biocompatible Nanoibrous Electrospun Constructs Feasibility and Safety Investigation

• Main Authors: Nasser Shakhssalim, Mohammad Mehdi Dehghan, Reza Moghadasali, Mohammad Hossein Soltani, Iman Shabani, Masoud Soleimani
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Urology and Nephrology Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences 2012-03-01
• Series: Urology Journal
• Subjects: urinary bladder; tissue engineering; biocompatible materials; polymers
• Online Access: http://www.urologyjournal.org/index.php/uj/article/view/1390/635
• ISSN: 1735-1308; 1735-546X

Purpose: To investigate the feasibility and safety of using biocompatible, nanofibrous electrospun polycaprolactone (PCL) and combination of polylactic acid (PLLA) and PCL mats in a canine model. Materials and Methods: Plasma-treated electrospun unseeded mats were implanted in three dogs. The first dog was sacrificed after 3 months and the second and third ones after 4 months, and then, the graft was examined macroscopically with subsequent morphological and histochemical evaluation. Results: Both films showed high levels of cell infiltration and tissue formation, but body response to PLLA/PCL mat in comparison to PCL mat was very low. All three implantation models showed the same light microscopic morphology, immunohistochemistry, and scanning electron microscopy results; nevertheless, only the PCL/PLLA model showed favorable clinical results. Conclusion: Based on these data, nanofibrous PLLA/PCL scaffolding could be a suitable material for the bladder tissue engineering; however, it deserves further investigations.