Over two million people in this country visit a musculoskeletal specialist yearly and nearly half of these visits are due to soft tissue damage to ligaments and tendons. Many anterior cruciate ligament reconstructions are conducted nationwide; however, recuperation and rehabilitation treatments for injuries to these are physically demanding. Injuries to the soft collagenous tissues often result in a significant decrease in the quality of a patient's life. Due to inefficient and invasive surgeries, tissue-engineering strategies are gaining momentum as an alternative to the current injury treatments that fail due to their inability to fully restore proper joint biomechanics. An alternative material for the anterior cruciate ligament replacement is researched for biocompatibility. Engineered ligament tissue is ultimately formed by culturing cells within a fibrous network under appropriate combinations of biochemical and mechanical conditions to induce synthesis of alignment-like extracellular matrix with oriented fibrils. Fiber orientation is induced by electrospinning onto a rotary disc, a drum, between two ground rods, or by resulting mechanical stretching. These electrospun nanofibers provide a high surface area for cell attachment and matrix depositions to induce cell orientation and proper nutrient transport. The recent incorporation of carbon nanotubes to electrospun nanofibers enhances the mechanical properties of these fibers. MTT cell proliferation assays conducted on seeded electrospun nanofibers demonstrate their biocompatibility in vitro. Results show that fibroblast cell proliferation and growth behavior vary by electrospun nanofibers type and carbon nanotube percent composition. Various nanofiber analyses suggest a positive response to NIH 3T3 presence over different incubation time periods. Biocompatibility between nanofibers and fibroblasts reveal a promising biomaterial for tissue-engineering ligaments. A functional engineered ligament must integrate reparative cells, NIH 3T3 fibroblasts, with the capability to proliferate and direct cell contact/ distribution. This work suggests that electrospun nanofibers with incorporated carbon nanotubes are a significant alternate to reconstructive surgery.

Biological compatibility of NIH 3T3 fibroblasts conducted on electrospun nanofibers containing multi-wall carbon nanotubes for potential regeneration of ligament tissue

245th National Meeting (2013)

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