Polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA) is an important class of photosensitive polymer with many tissue engineering applications. This study compared PEGDA and polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofiber matrix (NFM) coated PEGDA, referred to as PCL-PEGDA, scaffolds for their application in multiple tissue repair such as articular cartilage, nucleus pulposus of the intervertebral disc (IVD). We examined each scaffold morphology, porosity, swelling ratio, degradation, mechanical strength, and in vitro cytocompatibility properties. A defect was created in Sprague Dawley rat tail IVD by scraping native cartilage tissue and disc space, then implanting the scaffolds in the disc space for 4 weeks to evaluate in vivo efficacy of multi-tissue repair. Maintenance of disc height and creation of a new cell matrix was assessed to evaluate each scaffold’s ability to repair the tissue defect. Although both PEGDA and PCL-PEGDA scaffolds showed similar porosity ∼73%, we observed distinct topographical characteristics and a higher effect of degradation on the water-absorbing capacity for PEGDA compared to PCL-PEGDA. Mechanical tests showed higher compressive strength and modulus of PCL-PEGDA compared to PEGDA. In vitro cell studies show that the PCL NFM layer covering PEGDA improved osteoblast cell adhesion, proliferation, and migration into the PEGDA layer. In vivo studies concluded that the PEGDA scaffold alone was not ideal for implantation in rat caudal disc space without PCL nanofiber coating due to low compressive strength and modulus. In vivo results confirm that the PCL-PEGDA scaffold-maintained disc space and created a proteoglycan and collagen-rich new tissue matrix in the defect site after 4 weeks of scaffold implantation. We concluded that our developed PCL-PEGDA has the potential to be used in multi-tissue defect site repair.

聚乙二醇二丙烯酸酯（PEGDA）是一类重要的光敏聚合物，具有许多组织工程应用。本研究比较了 PEGDA 和聚己内酯 (PCL) 纳米纤维基质 (NFM) 涂层 PEGDA（称为 PCL-PEGDA）支架在关节软骨、椎间盘髓核 (IVD) 等多种组织修复中的应用。我们检查了每个支架的形态、孔隙率、膨胀率、降解、机械强度和体外细胞相容性。通过刮除原生软骨组织和椎间盘间隙，在 Sprague Dawley 大鼠尾巴 IVD 中产生缺陷，然后将支架植入椎间盘间隙 4 周以进行体内评估多组织修复的功效。评估了椎间盘高度的维持和新细胞基质的产生，以评估每个支架修复组织缺损的能力。尽管 PEGDA 和 PCL-PEGDA 支架都显示出相似的孔隙率 ~ 73%，但我们观察到与 PCL-PEGDA 相比，PEGDA 的不同地形特征和降解对吸水能力的影响更大。机械测试表明，与 PEGDA 相比，PCL-PEGDA 的抗压强度和模量更高。体外细胞研究表明，覆盖 PEGDA 的 PCL NFM 层改善了成骨细胞的粘附、增殖和迁移到 PEGDA 层中。体内研究得出结论，由于抗压强度和模量低，单独的 PEGDA 支架对于在没有 PCL 纳米纤维涂层的大鼠尾椎间盘空间中植入并不理想。体内结果证实，在支架植入 4 周后，PCL-PEGDA 支架维持了椎间盘间隙并在缺损部位产生了富含蛋白多糖和胶原蛋白的新组织基质。我们得出结论，我们开发的 PCL-PEGDA 具有用于多组织缺损部位修复的潜力。