Cell attachment studies on electrospun nanofibrous PLGA and freeze-dried porous PLGA

Tissue engineering, which is a promising approach for treating mankind, aims to repair, replace, maintain, or improve the function of damaged tissue or organ. Electrospun nanofibers, providing a three- dimensional environment to mimic the natural extracellular matrix (ECM), play an essential role in tissue engineer- ing as well as regenerative medicine. In this study we demonstrated the importance of scaffold fabrication method together with the effect of nanotopogeraphy to support the growth of cells. Two scaffolds were made from the bio- degradable and biocompatible poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) polymer by electrospinning and freeze-drying techniques respectively and the effectiveness in providing support for cell behavior was investigated. The scaffold structures were compared by scanning electron microscope (SEM). Fibroblast cell culture test was carried to investi- gate cell behaviors by inverted microscopic images. To investigate the effect of scaffolds on cell proliferation, we performed cell attachment experiments: 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol- 2-yl)-2,5 diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT). Our results showed that electrospun fibrous PLGA scaffolds provided more suitable surface for cell functioning compared with freeze-dried porous PLGA scaffolds, due to the feature similarity of the former to the native ECM. © Global Scientific Publishers 2013