FABRICATION OF GELATIN-BASED NANOFIBROUS SCAFFOLDS FOR CELL CULTURE

R.J. SABBATELLA; A.A. ALDANA; M.D. POPOV PEREIRA DA CUNHA; G.A. ABRAHAM

Encuentro; II Encontro de Polímeros Naturais; 2020

UNIARA, USP, UNICAMP, UNIFESP y UNESP

The design of biomimetic biomaterials for stem cell culture is a critical tool in our efforts to study cell behavior; understand tissue development, regeneration, and disease; and ultimately control the stem cells? fate and produce stem cell-based tissues. Scaffolding structures should mimic not only biological properties of extracellular matrix (ECM), but also morphological and topographical features. In this study, we focused on the preparation and characterization of nanofibrous scaffolds from blends of gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) and poly (ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate (PEGDMA) fabricated via electrospinning. Electrospinning parameters were optimized in order to obtain electrospun scaffolds of both randomly oriented and aligned nanofibers of GelMA/PEGDMA blends (mass ratios 4:1, 2:1, and 1:1). All scaffolds were then photo-crosslinked under UV light using Irgacure 2959 as photoinitiator, aiming to improve their stability at physiological conditions. GelMA/PEGDMA mats were characterized by SEM, FTIR, DSC, TGA, and contact angle. SEM images corroborated that defect-free scaffolds with random and aligned nanofibers were obtained. GelMA/PEGDMA 2:1 blend exhibited the better processability for both collector configurations than that of other blends and thus was further characterized in terms of his swelling and degradation behavior. After one week of immersion in PBS at 37°C, GelMA/PEGDMA 2:1 electrospun mats were still not fully degraded. These results show the feasibility of the use of PEGDMA as chemical cross-linker for gelatin-based scaffolds to modulate the degradation behavior, being promising for cell culture applications.