Fabrication of a novel Three-Dimensional porous PCL/PLA tissue engineering scaffold with high connectivity for endothelial cell migration

As an artificial extracellular matrix, tissue engineering scaffolds promote tissue regeneration and repair. Therefore, the scaffold’s internal structure is crucial for cell adhesion, growth, and migration. In this paper, based on the supercritical CO2 foaming technology, a novel three-dimensional (3D) porous polycaprolactone/polylactic acid tissue engineering scaffold induced by heterogeneous nanofibres was prepared by introducing the second phase of polylactic acid electrospinning nanofibres. The scanning electron microscopy results showed that the prepared scaffolds exhibited obvious nanofibre structures and 3D reticular pore structures. The influence of foaming temperature on pore morphology was also systematically explored. Tensile tests and water contact angle tests showed that the novel scaffolds exhibited good mechanical properties and hydrophilicity. The results of cross-sectional human umbilical endothelial cell (HUVEC) culture showed that the scaffolds were biocompatible and significantly promote the adhesion, migration and permeability of HUVECs. Single-cell migration assays showed that the 3D porous scaffolds effectively promote HUVEC migration. Therefore, 3D porous scaffolds have enormous application potential in the field of vascular patches.