Polycaprolactone (PCL) electrospun scaffolds have been widely investigated for cartilage repair application. However, their hydrophobicity and small pore size has been known to prevent cell attachment, proliferation and migration. Here, PCL was blended with gelatin (GEL) combining the favorable biological properties of GEL with the good mechanical performance of the former. Also, polyethylene glycol (PEG) particles were introduced during the electrospinning of the polymers blend by simultaneous electrospraying. These particles were subsequently removed resulting in fibrous scaffolds with enlarged pore size. PCL, GEL and PEG scaffolds formulations were developed and extensively structural and biologically characterized. GEL incorporation on the PCL scaffolds led to a considerably improved cell attachment and proliferation. A substantial pore size and interconnectivity increase was obtained, allowing cell infiltration through the porogenic scaffolds. All together these results suggest that this combined approach may provide a potentially clinically viable strategy for cartilage regeneration.

聚己内酯 (PCL) 电纺支架已被广泛研究用于软骨修复应用。然而，已知它们的疏水性和小孔径可防止细胞附着、增殖和迁移。在这里，PCL 与明胶 (GEL) 混合，结合了 GEL 良好的生物学特性和前者的良好机械性能。此外，在聚合物共混物的静电纺丝过程中，通过同时电喷雾引入了聚乙二醇 (PEG) 颗粒。这些颗粒随后被去除，导致孔径扩大的纤维支架。开发了 PCL、GEL 和 PEG 支架配方，并对其进行了广泛的结构和生物学表征。PCL 支架上的 GEL 掺入导致细胞附着和增殖的显着改善。获得了显着的孔径和互连性增加，允许细胞通过致孔支架渗透。所有这些结果表明，这种组合方法可能为软骨再生提供一种潜在的临床可行策略。