Interest to use cellulosics as polymers in tissue engineering has expanded its potential applications in the biomedical field. Electrospun cellulose acetate, regenerated to cellulose, was transformed into tissue engineering scaffolds with various structures and evaluated as a mimic to native extracellular matrix (ECM) in terms of porosity and fiber alignment. Electrospinning parameters, such as solvent and solution flow rate, were critical variables that influenced the ability of the scaffolding architectures to be maintained during the regeneration process. Laser micro-ablation of the cellulose acetate allowed the controlled design of microporosity to impact cell and nutrient diffusion. Additionally, cytotoxicity tests (minimal essential media elution test and agar overlay), indicate these electrospun scaffolds do not show any morphological changes to cells. These aspects, combined with the toolkit of polysaccharide chemistry for surface modification to enhance bioactivity, suggest that electrospun cellulose acetate is a robust platform for use as a tissue engineering scaffold.

Electrospun fibers of regenerated cellulose for biomedical applications: Formation, characterization, and in vitro biocompatibilty of scaffolds

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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