Fabrication of nanostructured collagen fibrous scaffolds

Abstract

Biopolymeric nanofiber processing by electrospinning is an emerging technique for the production of bioscaffolds that can be replaced the natural extra cellular matrix (ECM). Electrospinning is a process whereby ultra-fine fibers are formed in a high voltage electrostatic field and is remarkably efficient, rapid, elegant and cost effective. Collagen is a highly biocompatible, biodegradable and non-immunogenic structural protein in the ECM, where it is organized into insoluble fibers of significant tensile strength. In this study, we have made an attempt to fabricate collagen nanostructure scaffold for tissue engineering applications. The homogeneous solution of collagen dissolved in organic solvent was placed in 5 ml glass syringe and positive voltage of 18 to 25 kV was applied to the polymer solution and delivered at various flow rates. The resultant fibers were collected on the grounded metallic screen. The optimum condition for spinning nanofibers was standardized by varying the experimental parameters such as solution concentration, flow rate, Voltage applied, needle size and the distance between needle and collector. The electrospun scaffold composed of collagen fibers features a morphological similarity to the ECM of natural tissue. Surface morphological structure of nanofibers was studied by scanning electron microscopy and found that the average fiber diameter of the electrospun materials increase with increasing solution concentration. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was employed to evaluate the chemical functionality changes due to electrostatic force. This kind of electrospun collagen can be used as a tissue scaffold.