Tailoring Nano-Porous Surface of Aligned Electrospun Poly (L-Lactic Acid) Fibers for Nerve Tissue Engineering

• Main Authors: Hongyun Xuan, Biyun Li, Feng Xiong, Shuyuan Wu, Zhuojun Zhang, Yumin Yang, Huihua Yuan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-03-01
• Series: International Journal of Molecular Sciences
• Subjects: well-aligned nano-porous fibers; bacterial growth inhibition; cellular responses; nerve regeneration
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/7/3536

Despite the existence of many attempts at nerve tissue engineering, there is no ideal strategy to date for effectively treating defective peripheral nerve tissue. In the present study, well-aligned poly (L-lactic acid) (PLLA) nanofibers with varied nano-porous surface structures were designed within different ambient humidity levels using the stable jet electrospinning (SJES) technique. Nanofibers have the capacity to inhibit bacterial adhesion, especially with respect to <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> (<i>S. aureus</i>). It was noteworthy to find that the large nano-porous fibers were less detrimentally affected by <i>S. aureus</i> than smaller fibers. Large nano-pores furthermore proved more conducive to the proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells (NSCs), while small nano-pores were more beneficial to NSC migration. Thus, this study concluded that well-aligned fibers with varied nano-porous surface structures could reduce bacterial colonization and enhance cellular responses, which could be used as promising material in tissue engineering, especially for neuro-regeneration.