Three-Dimensional Polycaprolactone Hierarchical Scaffolds Supplemented with Natural Biomaterials to Enhance Mesenchymal Stem Cell Proliferation

A hybrid technology that combines a three-dimensional (3-D) dispensing system with an electrospinning process was used to produce a hierarchical 3-D scaffold consisting of micro-sized polycaprolactone (PCL) strands and micro/nano-sized fibres. The micro/nanofibre biocomposites electrospun with PCL/small intestine submucosa (SIS) and PCL/Silk fibroin were layered between melt-plotted micro-strands. The scaffold containing SIS exhibited a stronger hydrophilic property than other scaffolds due to the various hydrophilic components in SIS. The 3-D hierarchical scaffold having biocomposites exhibited an incredibly enhanced initial cell attachment and proliferation of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells relative to the normally designed 3-D scaffold.