Reinforcement of a Porous Collagen Scaffold with Surface-Activated PLA Fibers

• Published in: Journal of biomaterials science. Polymer ed. Vol. 21; no. 6-7; pp. 963 - 977
• Main Authors: Liu, Xi, Huang, Changbin, Feng, Yujie, Liang, Jie, Fan, Yujiang, Gu, Zhongwei, Zhang, Xingdong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Taylor & Francis Group 01.01.2010
• Subjects: Animals; Cell Line; Cell Survival; Collagen - chemistry; COLLAGEN SPONGE; Fibroblasts - cytology; Lactic Acid - chemistry; Materials Testing; Mice; PLA FIBER; Polyesters; Polymers - chemistry; Porosity; REINFORCEMENT; SCAFFOLD; SURFACE ACTIVATION; Tissue Scaffolds - chemistry
• ISSN: 0920-5063; 1568-5624
• DOI: 10.1163/156856209X461034

A hybrid porous collagen scaffold mechanically reinforced with surface-activated poly(lactic acid) (PLA) fiber was prepared. PLA fibers, 20 μm in diameter and 1 mm in length, were aminolyzed with hexanediamine to introduce free amino groups on the surfaces. After the amino groups were transferred to aldehyde groups by treatment with glutaraldehyde, different amounts (1.5, 3, 5 and 8 mg) of surface-activated PLA fibers were homogeneously mixed with 2 ml type-I collagen solution (pH 2.8, 0.6 wt%). This mixture solution was then freeze-dried and cross-linked to obtain collagen sponges with surface-activated PLA fiber. Scanning electron microscopy observation indicated that the collagen sponges had a highly interconnected porous structure with an average pore size of 170 μm, irrespective of PLA fiber incorporation. The dispersion of surface-activated PLA fibers was homogeneous in collagen sponge, in contrast to unactivated PLA fibers. The compression modulus test results showed that, compared with unactivated PLA fibers, the surface-activated PLA fibers enhanced the resistance of collagen sponge to compression more significantly. Cytotoxicity assay by MTT test showed no cytotoxicity of these collagen sponges. L929 mouse fibroblast cell-culture studies in vitro revealed that the number of L929 cells attached to the collagen sponge with surface-activated PLA fibers, both 6 h and 24 h after seeding, was higher than that in pure collagen sponge and sponge with unactivated PLA fibers. In addition, a better distribution of cells infiltrated in collagen sponge with surface-activated PLA fibers was observed by histological staining. These results indicated that the collagen sponge reinforced with surface-activated PLA fibers is a promising biocompatible scaffold for tissue engineering.