Please activate JavaScript!
Please install Adobe Flash Player, click here for download
ePaper created 2017-03-14, 10:25:37 | version 1.49.03
HEALTH 1 ELECTROSPINNING IN REGENERATIVE MEDICINE Sve nja H ind e re r, K at ja S ch e nke - L ay land Electrospinning – Functional principle Electrospinning is a well-known method from the ilter and textile industry that is increasingly used in regenerative medicine and medical technology. The process of electrospin- ning produces a three-dimensional ibrous carrier substrate or membrane. Here, a polymer solution is pumped through a syringe until a drop forms at the tip. By applying a high voltage, a iber is released from the drop, which moves in circular movements in the direction of the counter electrode, the collector. In this way, the solvent evaporates and dry, ar- bitrarily oriented ibers in the nanometer to micrometer range are deposited on the collector. Fiber and pore size as well as the iber morphology can be set and changed via a variety of system and process parameters. Biomaterials as starting materials Depending on the future application area and the associ- ated desired functionality of the biomaterial, we use both enzymatically and/or hydrolytically biodegradable as well as non-degradable polymers. We spin natural materials such as collagen, gelatin, hyaluronic acid, ibronectin and smaller ECM molecules (proteoglycans, glycosaminoglycans or growth factors), but also synthetic polymers such as polylactide (PLA), polyurethane (PU), poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL), polyglycolic acid (PGA), polyethylene glycol (PEG), and much more [2]. In addition, we have extensive know-how in the spinning of functional hybrids (PCL-gelatin-decorin, PLA-elastin, PLA- ibronectin), which are mechanically stable and biologically active [3]. Applications in biomedicine The SpinKoll tendon – electrospinning of collagen An attractive feature of this technique is that it excellently mimics the ibrous structure of the human extracellular matrix (ECM) [1]. At Fraunhofer IGB, we generate electrospun carrier substrates in various forms for static and dynamic cell culture, differentiation of stem cells, as implants, test systems or as drug delivery systems. Standardized halogenated solvents are used to produce elec- trospun carrier substrates, which is a critical factor in the spin- ning of proteins. In the SpinKoll project, type I collagen is to be spun from an acetic acid solution to maintain the collagen structure and functionality after the spinning process. We will increase the mechanical stability of the purely natural material by means of a special layer-by-layer arrangement, resulting in a carrier substrate which can potentially be used as a tendon replacement. 5 6