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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Annachiara ScalzoneORCiD, Dr Piergiorgio GentileORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. T.Electrospun membranes have been widely used as scaffolds for soft tissue engineering due to their extracellular matrix-like structure. A mussel-inspired coating approach based on 3,4-dihydroxy-DL-phenylalanine (DOPA) polymerization was proposed to graft gelatin (G) onto poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) electrospun membranes. PolyDOPA coating allowed grafting of gelatin to PLGA fibers without affecting their bulk characteristics, such as molecular weight and thermal properties. PLGA electrospun membranes were dipped in a DOPA solution (2 mg/mL, Tris/HCl 10 mM, pH 8.5) for 7 h and then incubated in G solution (2 mg/mL, Tris/HCl 10 mM, pH 8.5) for 16 h. PLGA fibers had an average diameter of 1.37 ± 0.23 µm. Quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation technique (QCM-D) analysis was performed to monitor DOPA polymerization over time: after 7 h the amount of deposited polyDOPA was 71 ng/cm2. After polyDOPA surface functionalization, which was, also revealed by Raman spectroscopy, PLGA membranes maintained their fibrous morphology, however the fiber size and junction number increased. Successful functionalization with G was demonstrated by FTIR-ATR spectra, which showed the presence of G adsorption bands at 1653 cm−1 (Amide I) and 1544 cm−1 (Amide II) after G grafting, and by the Kaiser Test, which revealed a higher amount of amino groups for G functionalized membranes. Finally, the biocompatibility of the developed substrates and their ability to induce cell growth was assessed using Neonatal Normal Human Dermal Fibroblasts.
Author(s): Carmagnola I, Chiono V, Ruocco G, Scalzone A, Gentile P, Taddei P, Ciardelli G
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Nanomaterials
Year: 2020
Volume: 10
Issue: 11
Pages: 1-17
Online publication date: 02/11/2020
Acceptance date: 29/10/2020
Date deposited: 08/01/2021
ISSN (electronic): 2079-4991
Publisher: MDPI AG
URL: https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10112184
DOI: 10.3390/nano10112184
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