Biodegradable polymers nanofiber scaffolds

TABLE 7.3 Some biodegradable polymer nanofiber scaffolds supporting stem cell growth... 

Park K, Ju YM, Son JS, Ahn KD, Han DK (2007) Surface modification of biodegradable elec-trospun nanofiber scaffolds and their interaction with fibroblasts. J Biomater Sci Polym Ed 18 369-382... 

It is well known that proliferation or differentiation of nerve or muscle tissue can be enhanced by electrical stimulation, which is in part attributed to the propagation of action potentials upon stimulation. To exploit these physiological events, composites of biodegradable polymers with electroconduc-tive materials have been investigated for effective transmission of electrical signals to the cells cultured on them. PLCL and polyaniline, one of the widely used electrically conductive materials, were mixed to fabricate the nanofiber meshes, illustrating that myotube formation was accelerated when the myoblasts were cultured on polyaniline-containing nanofibers compared to that of PLCL-only nanofibers, even without electrical stimulation (Jun et ah, 2009). Another electroconductive polymer, polypyrrole, was also used as a composite with other synthetic polymers. For example, polypyrrole was incorporated as particles into polylactide scaffolds, and the fibroblasts cultured on them with various intensities of DC current showed controlled proliferation in a current-dependent manner (Shi et al., 2004). 

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