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Biodegradable Polymer Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering

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A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Biomacromolecules, Biobased and Biodegradable Polymers".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 January 2020) | Viewed by 61794

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Paweł Sajkiewicz

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Guest Editor

Laboratory of Polymers and Biomaterials, Institute of Fundamental Technological Research, the Polish Academy of Sciences, 02-106 Warsaw, Poland
Interests: biomaterials; polymers; nanofibers; electrospinning; tissue engineering; polymer–cell interactions
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

I have been asked by the Editor of Polymers (MDPI) to be the Guest Editor of a Special Issue titled “Biodegradable polymer scaffolds for tissue engineering”.

This Special Issue is motivated by the still growing interest in the applications of biodegradable polymer scaffolds in the field of tissue engineering/regenerative medicine. Scaffolds play a crucial role in tissue regeneration, and their design, fabrication and the detailed characterization of their structure and properties are major fields of recent biomaterial research. During the last years, much effort has placed on the development of innovative scaffolds with potential applications in tissue engineering. This Special Issue is oriented towards various types of biodegradable polymer scaffolds, including nano- and submicron fibers formed by electrospinning, hydrogels, 3-D printed structures, etc.

Considering your prominent contributions in this extremely exciting area, I would like to cordially invite you to submit a paper to this Special Issue “Biodegradable polymer scaffolds for tissue engineering” through the journal webpage. The submitted manuscripts will then be fast-tracked for review. I would very much appreciate it if you could let me know of your interest in contributing a paper at your earliest convenience. Research articles, review articles, as well as communications and letters are welcome.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere. All manuscripts are refereed through a peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for the submission of manuscripts are available on the journal’s website.

Prof. Paweł Sajkiewicz
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Polymer
Scaffolds
Tissue Engineering
Regenerative Medicine
Polymer–cell interactions
Nanofibers
Hydrogels
Membranes
Electrospinning
3-D printing

Published Papers (11 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 2178 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Material Characterization of PCL:PLLA Electrospun Fibers Following Six Months Degradation In Vitro

by Alyah H. Shamsah, Sarah H. Cartmell, Stephen M. Richardson and Lucy A. Bosworth

Polymers 2020, 12(3), 700; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12030700 - 21 Mar 2020

Cited by 25 | Viewed by 4138

Abstract

The annulus fibrosus—one of the two tissues comprising the intervertebral disc—is susceptible to injury and disease, leading to chronic pain and rupture. A synthetic, biodegradable material could provide a suitable scaffold that alleviates this pain and supports repair through tissue regeneration. The transfer of properties, particularly biomechanical, from scaffold to new tissue is essential and should occur at the same rate to prevent graft failure post-implantation. This study outlines the effect of hydrolytic degradation on the material properties of a novel blend of polycaprolactone and poly(lactic acid) electrospun nanofibers (50:50) over a six-month period following storage in phosphate buffered saline solution at 37 °C. As expected, the molecular weight distribution for this blend decreased over the 180-day period. This was in line with significant changes to fiber morphology, which appeared swollen and merged following observation using Scanning Electron Microscopy. Similarly, hydrolysis resulted in considerable remodeling of the scaffolds’ polymer chains as demonstrated by sharp increases in percentage crystallinity and tensile properties becoming stiffer, stronger and more brittle over time. These mechanical data remained within the range reported for human annulus fibrosus tissue and their long-term efficacy further supports this novel blend as a potential scaffold to support tissue regeneration. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodegradable Polymer Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering)

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17 pages, 6636 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Novel 3D Hybrid Nanofiber Scaffolds for Bone Regeneration

by Dorota Kołbuk, Marcin Heljak, Emilia Choińska and Olga Urbanek

Polymers 2020, 12(3), 544; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12030544 - 02 Mar 2020

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 5215

Abstract

Development of hybrid scaffolds and their formation methods occupies an important place in tissue engineering. In this paper, a novel method of 3D hybrid scaffold formation is presented as well as an explanation of the differences in scaffold properties, which were a consequence of different crosslinking mechanisms. Scaffolds were formed from 3D freeze-dried gelatin and electrospun poly(lactide-co-glicolide) (PLGA) fibers in a ratio of 1:1 w/w. In order to enhance osteoblast proliferation, the fibers were coated with hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (HAp) using sonochemical processing. All scaffolds were crosslinked using an EDC/NHS solution. The scaffolds’ morphology was imaged using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The chemical composition of the scaffolds was analyzed using several methods. Water absorption and mass loss investigations proved a higher crosslinking degree of the hybrid scaffolds than a pure gelatin scaffold, caused by additional interactions between gelatin, PLGA, and HAp. Additionally, mechanical properties of the 3D hybrid scaffolds were higher than traditional hydrogels. In vitro studies revealed that fibroblasts and osteoblasts proliferated and migrated well on the 3D hybrid scaffolds, and also penetrated their structure during the seven days of the experiment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodegradable Polymer Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering)

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15 pages, 3501 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Tailoring Gellan Gum Spongy-Like Hydrogels’ Microstructure by Controlling Freezing Parameters

by Helena R. Moreira, Lucília P. da Silva, Rui L. Reis and Alexandra P. Marques

Polymers 2020, 12(2), 329; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12020329 - 05 Feb 2020

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2795

Abstract

Gellan gum (GG) spongy-like hydrogels have been explored for different tissue engineering (TE) applications owing to their highly attractive hydrogel-like features, and improved mechanical resilience and cell performance. Although the whole process for the preparation of these materials is well-defined, we hypothesized that variations occurring during the freezing step lead to batch-to-batch discrepancies. Aiming to address this issue, two freezing devices were tested, to prepare GG spongy-like hydrogels in a more reproducible way. The cooling and freezing rates, the nucleation time and temperature, and the end freezing time were determined at different freezing temperatures (−20, −80, and −210 °C). The efficacy of the devices was assessed by analyzing the physicochemical, mechanical, and biological properties of different formulations. The cooling rate and freezing rate varied between 0.1 and 128 °C/min, depending on the temperature used and the device. The properties of spongy-like hydrogels prepared with the tested devices showed lower standard deviation in comparison to those prepared with the standard process, due to the slower freezing rate of the hydrogels. However, with this method, mean pore size was significantly lower than that with the standard method. Cell entrapment, adhesion, and viability were not affected as demonstrated with human dermal fibroblasts. This work confirmed that batch-to-batch variations are mostly due to the freezing step and that the tested devices allow fine tuning of the scaffolds’ structure and properties. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodegradable Polymer Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering)

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Graphical abstract

19 pages, 8152 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Synergistic Effects on Incorporation of β-Tricalcium Phosphate and Graphene Oxide Nanoparticles to Silk Fibroin/Soy Protein Isolate Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Engineering

by Fan Liu, Chen Liu, Bowen Zheng, Jia He, Jun Liu, Cen Chen, In-seop Lee, Xiaohong Wang and Yi Liu

Polymers 2020, 12(1), 69; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12010069 - 02 Jan 2020

Cited by 25 | Viewed by 3433

Abstract

In bone tissue engineering, an ideal scaffold is required to have favorable physical, chemical (or physicochemical), and biological (or biochemical) properties to promote osteogenesis. Although silk fibroin (SF) and/or soy protein isolate (SPI) scaffolds have been widely used as an alternative to autologous and heterologous bone grafts, the poor mechanical property and insufficient osteoinductive capability has become an obstacle for their in vivo applications. Herein, β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) and graphene oxide (GO) nanoparticles are incorporated into SF/SPI scaffolds simultaneously or individually. Physical and chemical properties of these composite scaffolds are evaluated using field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). Biocompatibility and osteogenesis of the composite scaffolds are evaluated using bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). All the composite scaffolds have a complex porous structure with proper pore sizes and porosities. Physicochemical properties of the scaffolds can be significantly increased through the incorporation of β-TCP and GO nanoparticles. Alkaline phosphatase activity (ALP) and osteogenesis-related gene expression of the BMSCs are significantly enhanced in the presence of β-TCP and GO nanoparticles. Especially, β-TCP and GO nanoparticles have a synergistic effect on promoting osteogenesis. These results suggest that the β-TCP and GO enhanced SF/SPI scaffolds are promising candidates for bone tissue regeneration. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodegradable Polymer Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering)

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Graphical abstract

26 pages, 5925 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Poly(Glycerol Sebacate)–Poly(l-Lactide) Nonwovens. Towards Attractive Electrospun Material for Tissue Engineering

by Piotr Denis, Michał Wrzecionek, Agnieszka Gadomska-Gajadhur and Paweł Sajkiewicz

Polymers 2019, 11(12), 2113; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym11122113 - 16 Dec 2019

Cited by 31 | Viewed by 6891

Abstract

Two types of poly(glycerol sebacate) (PGS) prepolymers were synthesized and electrospun with poly(l-lactic acid) (PLA), resulting in bicomponent nonwovens. The obtained materials were pre-heated in a vacuum, at different times, to crosslink PGS and investigate morphological and structural dependencies in that polymeric, electrospun system. As both PGS and PLA are sensitive to pre-heating (crosslinking) conditions, research concerns both components. More interest is focused on the properties of PGS, considering further research for mechanical properties and subsequent experiments with PGS synthesis. Electrospinning of PGS blended with PLA does not bring difficulties, but obtaining elastomeric properties of nonwovens is problematic. Even though PGS has many potential advantages over other polyesters when soft tissue engineering is considered, its full utilization via the electrospinning process is much harder in practice. Further investigations are ongoing, especially with the promising PGS prepolymer with a higher esterification degree and its variations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodegradable Polymer Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering)

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17 pages, 4409 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Crosslinking Kinetics of Methylcellulose Aqueous Solution and Its Potential as a Scaffold for Tissue Engineering

by Beata Niemczyk-Soczynska, Arkadiusz Gradys, Dorota Kolbuk, Anna Krzton-Maziopa and Pawel Sajkiewicz

Polymers 2019, 11(11), 1772; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym11111772 - 28 Oct 2019

Cited by 24 | Viewed by 4542

Abstract

Thermosensitive, physically crosslinked injectable hydrogels are in the area of interests of various scientific fields. One of the representatives of this materials group is an aqueous solution of methylcellulose. At ambient conditions, methylcellulose (MC) is a sol while on heating up to 37 °C, MC undergoes physical crosslinking and transforms into a gel. Injectability at room temperature, and crosslinkability during subsequent heating to physiological temperature raises hopes, especially for tissue engineering applications. This research work aimed at studying crosslinking kinetics, thermal, viscoelastic, and biological properties of MC aqueous solution in a broad range of MC concentrations. It was evidenced by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) that crosslinking of MC is a reversible two-stage process, manifested by the appearance of two endothermic effects, related to the destruction of water cages around methoxy groups, followed by crosslinking via the formation of hydrophobic interactions between methoxy groups in the polymeric chains. The DSC results also allowed the determination of MC crosslinking kinetics. Complementary measurements of MC crosslinking kinetics performed by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) provided information on the final storage modulus, which was important from the perspective of tissue engineering applications. Cytotoxicity tests were performed using mouse fibroblasts and showed that MC at low concentration did not cause cytotoxicity. All these efforts allowed to assess MC hydrogel relevance for tissue engineering applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodegradable Polymer Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering)

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Graphical abstract

16 pages, 3498 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Aminolysis of Various Aliphatic Polyesters in a Form of Nanofibers and Films

by Oliwia Jeznach, Dorota Kolbuk and Paweł Sajkiewicz

Polymers 2019, 11(10), 1669; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym11101669 - 14 Oct 2019

Cited by 38 | Viewed by 5594

Abstract

Surface functionalization of polymer scaffolds is a method used to improve interactions of materials with cells. A frequently used method for polyesters is aminolysis reaction, which introduces free amine groups on the surface. In this study, nanofibrous scaffolds and films of three different polyesters–polycaprolactone (PCL), poly(lactide-co-caprolactone) (PLCL), and poly(l-lactide) (PLLA) were subjected to this type of surface modification under the same conditions. Efficiency of aminolysis was evaluated on the basis of ninhydrin tests and ATR–FTIR spectroscopy. Also, impact of this treatment on the mechanical properties, crystallinity, and wettability of polyesters was compared and discussed from the perspective of aminolysis efficiency. It was shown that aminolysis is less efficient in the case of nanofibers, particularly for PCL nanofibers. Our hypothesis based on the fundamentals of classical high speed spinning process is that the lower efficiency of aminolysis in the case of nanofibers is associated with the radial distribution of crystallinity of electrospun fiber with more crystalline skin, strongly inhibiting the reaction. Moreover, the water contact angle results demonstrate that the effect of free amino groups on wettability is very different depending on the type and the form of polymer. The results of this study can help to understand fundamentals of aminolysis-based surface modification. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodegradable Polymer Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering)

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18 pages, 6628 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Preparation of Biodegradable Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate Hydrogels via Thiol-ene Chemistry

by Gavin Burke, Zhi Cao, Declan M. Devine and Ian Major

Polymers 2019, 11(8), 1339; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym11081339 - 13 Aug 2019

Cited by 32 | Viewed by 6584

Abstract

Through the control of the molecular weight, water content and monomer concentration, polyethylene glycol dimethacrylate (PEGDMA) based hydrogels have been adapted for numerous applications, including as structural scaffolds, drug delivery vehicles and cell carriers. However, due to the low biodegradability rates, the use of PEGDMA in tissue engineering has been limited. Thiol-based monomers have been shown to improve the degradation rates of several PEG-based hydrogels, though their impact on several material properties has not been as well defined. In this work, several mercaptopropianoates, as well as mercaptoacetates, were mixed with PEGDMA and copolymerized. Following an initial polymerization check, it was determined that mercaptoacetate-based thiol monomers did not polymerize in the presence of PEGDMA, whereas mercaptopropionates were more successful. The wettability, and the compressive and tensile strength, in addition to the thermal properties, were determined for successfully copolymerized samples via a combination of differential scanning calorimetry, dynamic mechanical analysis, unconfined compression, and goniometry. Further study determined that dipentaerythritol hexa(3–mercaptopropionate) (DiPETMP) successfully enhanced the biodegradability of PEGDMA. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodegradable Polymer Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering)

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Review

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38 pages, 2616 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceReview

Proteins and Peptides as Important Modifiers of the Polymer Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering Applications—A Review

by Katarzyna Klimek and Grazyna Ginalska

Polymers 2020, 12(4), 844; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12040844 - 06 Apr 2020

Cited by 110 | Viewed by 9088

Abstract

Polymer scaffolds constitute a very interesting strategy for tissue engineering. Even though they are generally non-toxic, in some cases, they may not provide suitable support for cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation, which decelerates tissue regeneration. To improve biological properties, scaffolds are frequently enriched with bioactive molecules, inter alia extracellular matrix proteins, adhesive peptides, growth factors, hormones, and cytokines. Although there are many papers describing synthesis and properties of polymer scaffolds enriched with proteins or peptides, few reviews comprehensively summarize these bioactive molecules. Thus, this review presents the current knowledge about the most important proteins and peptides used for modification of polymer scaffolds for tissue engineering. This paper also describes the influence of addition of proteins and peptides on physicochemical, mechanical, and biological properties of polymer scaffolds. Moreover, this article sums up the major applications of some biodegradable natural and synthetic polymer scaffolds modified with proteins and peptides, which have been developed within the past five years. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodegradable Polymer Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering)

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25 pages, 2958 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceReview

Piezoelectric Scaffolds as Smart Materials for Neural Tissue Engineering

by Angelika Zaszczynska, Paweł Sajkiewicz and Arkadiusz Gradys

Polymers 2020, 12(1), 161; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12010161 - 08 Jan 2020

Cited by 87 | Viewed by 8869

Abstract

Injury to the central or peripheral nervous systems leads to the loss of cognitive and/or sensorimotor capabilities, which still lacks an effective treatment. Tissue engineering in the post-injury brain represents a promising option for cellular replacement and rescue, providing a cell scaffold for either transplanted or resident cells. Tissue engineering relies on scaffolds for supporting cell differentiation and growth with recent emphasis on stimuli responsive scaffolds, sometimes called smart scaffolds. One of the representatives of this material group is piezoelectric scaffolds, being able to generate electrical charges under mechanical stimulation, which creates a real prospect for using such scaffolds in non-invasive therapy of neural tissue. This paper summarizes the recent knowledge on piezoelectric materials used for tissue engineering, especially neural tissue engineering. The most used materials for tissue engineering strategies are reported together with the main achievements, challenges, and future needs for research and actual therapies. This review provides thus a compilation of the most relevant results and strategies and serves as a starting point for novel research pathways in the most relevant and challenging open questions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodegradable Polymer Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering)

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18 pages, 4337 KiB

Open AccessReview

Targeted Drug Delivery Systems for the Treatment of Glaucoma: Most Advanced Systems Review

by Olga Cegielska and Paweł Sajkiewicz

Polymers 2019, 11(11), 1742; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym11111742 - 24 Oct 2019

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3574

Abstract

Each year, new glaucoma drug delivery systems are developed. Due to the chronic nature of the disease, it requires the inconvenient daily administration of medications. As a result of their elution from the eye surface and penetration to the bloodstream through undesired permeation routes, the bioavailability of active compounds is low, and systemic side effects occur. Despite numerous publications on glaucoma drug carriers of controlled drug release kinetics, only part of them consider drug permeation routes and, thus, carriers’ location, as an important factor affecting drug delivery. In this paper, we try to demonstrate the importance of the delivery proximal to glaucoma drug targets. The targeted delivery can significantly improve drug bioavailability, reduce side effects, and increase patients’ compliance compared to both commercial and scientifically developed formulations that can spread over the eye surface or stay in contact with conjunctival sac. We present a selection of glaucoma drug carriers intended to be placed on cornea or injected into the aqueous humor and that have been made by advanced materials using hi-tech forming methods, allowing for effective and convenient sustained antiglaucoma drug delivery. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodegradable Polymer Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering)

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