Fabrication of shish–kebab structured poly(ε-caprolactone) electrospun nanofibers that mimic collagen fibrils: Effect of solvents and matrigel functionalization

Surface properties of tissue engineering scaffolds such as topography, hydrophilicity, and functional groups play a vital role in cell adhesion, migration, proliferation, and apoptosis. In this study, poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) shish–kebab scaffolds (PCL-SK), which feature a three-dimensional structure comprised of electrospun PCL nanofibers covered by periodic, self-induced PCL crystal lamellae on the surface, was created to mimic the nanotopography of native collagen fibrils in the extracellular matrix (ECM). Two different kinds of solvents used in creating kebabs on the shish were investigated by real-time observation. It was found that the solvent solubility directly affects the formation of kebabs: the lower the solubility of the solvent, the easier the formation of the kebabs on the surface of the electrospun nanofibers. In addition, matrigel was covalently immobilized on the surface of alkaline hydrolyzed PCL and PCL-SK scaffolds to enhance their hydrophilicity. This combined approach not only mimics the nanotopography of native collagen fibrils, but also simulates the surface features of collagen fibrils for cell growth. To investigate the viability of such scaffolds, HEF1 fibroblast cell assays were conducted and the results revealed that the nanotopography of the PCL-SK scaffolds facilitated cell adhesion and proliferation. The matrigel functionalization on PCL-SK scaffolds further enhanced cellular response, which suggested elevated biocompatibility and greater potential for tissue engineering applications.