Electrospinning a small diameter tubular scaffold for tissue engineering blood vessels

Abstract

Electrospinning has been well-researched and it has been utilized for some years to create biodegradable scaffolds for tissue engineering. However, there has always been difficulty in removing a tubular scaffold from its cylindrical collector without affecting its structural and mechanical integrity. In this report, a tubular scaffold was fabricated using the electrospinning technique with a set of specified parameters (weight percentage of polymer, voltage, flow rate, distance between needle tip to collector, speed of rotation of cylindrical collector and duration). The biodegradable material used was Poly (L-lactide/ε-caprolactone) (PLC). In order to optimize the tube removal process, various methods were utilized, namely soaking in ethanol, using a Teflon tubing, coating with Poly (Vinyl Alcohol) prior to electrospinning and using an Opsite spray. Also, the tubular scaffold was subjected to characterization techniques such as Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), and Fourier-Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). In conclusion, the 10 wt% PVA coating on the cylindrical collector prior to electrospinning has shown to improve the removal process of the PLC tube. The characterization techniques also showed that PLC retained its thermal and chemical properties after electrospinning.