Electrospun Honeycomb as Nests for Controlled Osteoblast Spatial Organization

Honeycomb nanofibrous scaffolds were elaborated by electrospinning onto micro-patterned collectors either with poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL) or poly(D, L-lactic acid) (PLA). The unimodal distribution of fiber diameters, observed for PLA, led to relatively flat scaffolds; on the other hand, the bimodal distribution of PCL fiber diameters significantly increased the relief of the scaffolds' patterns due to the preferential deposition of the thick fiber portions on the walls of the collector's patterns via preferential electrostatic interaction. Finally, a biological evaluation demonstrated the effect of the scaffolds' relief on the spatial organization of MG63 osteoblast-like cells. Mimicking hemi-osteons, cell gathering was observed inside PCL honeycomb nests with a size ranging from 80 to 360 mu m.