Electrospinning Fabrication and Cytocompatibility Investigation of Nanodiamond Particles-Gelatin Fibrous Tubular Scaffolds for Nerve Regeneration

This paper reports the electrospinning fabrication of flexible nanostructured tubular scaffolds, based on fish gelatin (FG) and nanodiamond nanoparticles (NDs), and their cytocompatibility with murine neural stem cells. The effects of both nanofiller and protein concentration on the scaffold morphology, aqueous affinity, size modification at rehydration, and degradation are assessed. Our findings indicate that nanostructuring with low amounts of NDs may modify the fiber properties, including a certain regional parallel orientation of fiber segments. NE-4C cells form dense clusters that strongly adhere to the surface of FG50-based scaffolds, while also increasing FG concentration and adding NDs favor cellular infiltration into the flexible fibrous FG70_NDs nanocomposite. This research illustrates the potential of nanostructured NDs-FG fibers as scaffolds for nerve repair and regeneration. We also emphasize the importance of further understanding the effect of the nanofiller-protein interphase on the microstructure and properties of electrospun fibers and on cell-interactivity.

Fabrication and Biocompatibility Evaluation of Nanodiamonds-Gelatin Electrospun Materials Designed for Prospective Tissue Regeneration Applications

Due to the reduced ability of most harmed tissues to self-regenerate, new strategies are being developed in order to promote self-repair assisted or not by biomaterials, among these tissue engineering (TE). Human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hASCs) currently represent a promising tool for tissue reconstruction, due to their low immunogenicity, high differentiation potential to multiple cell types and easy harvesting. Gelatin is a natural biocompatible polymer used for regenerative applications, while nanodiamond particles (NDs) are used as reinforcing nanomaterial that might modulate cell behavior, namely cell adhesion, viability, and proliferation. The development of electrospun microfibers loaded with NDs is expected to allow nanomechanical sensing due to local modifications of both nanostructure and stiffness. Two aqueous suspensions with 0.5 and 1% w/v NDs in gelatin from cold water fish skin (FG) were used to generate electrospun meshes. Advanced morpho- and micro-structural characterization revealed homogeneous microfibers. Nanoindentation tests confirmed the reinforcing effect of NDs. Biocompatibility assays showed an increased viability and proliferation profile of hASCs in contact with FG_NDs, correlated with very low cytotoxic effects of the materials. Moreover, hASCs developed an elongated cytoskeleton, suggesting that NDs addition to FG materials encouraged cell adhesion. This study showed the FG_NDs fibrous scaffolds potential for advanced TE applications.