Preparation of electrospun core-sheath yarn with enhanced bioproperties for biomedical materials.

OBJECTIVES: To create a multifunctional medical material that combines the advantages of both nanofibers and macroyarns.

RESULTS: A novel electrospinning-based approach was developed for creating polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofiber covered yarns (PCL-NCYs) in which polyglycolic acid multi-strand filaments (PGA-MFs) were used as the core. BALB/3T3 (mouse embryonic fibroblast cell line) cells were cultured on the PCL-NCYs substrate and cell morphology and proliferation were determined by methylthiazol tetrazolium (MTT) assay. Compared with PGA-MFs, PCL-NCYs had a higher porosity and tensile strength of 88 ± 8% and 348 ± 16 MPa and in particular, the porosity was four times higher. BALB/3T3 cells attached more easily onto the nanofiber structure and proliferated along the direction of nanofibers, indicating that PCL-NCYs can achieve better cell differentiation and proliferation.

CONCLUSIONS: PCL-NCYs can be created by combining electrospinning covering and textile twisting, and have better mechanical property and higher porosity, and can be used as a novel scaffold in tissue engineering.