Electrospun collagen-poly(l-lactic acid-co-ε-caprolactone) membranes for cartilage tissue engineering

Aim: To study the feasibility of electrospun collagen-poly(L-lactic acid-co-epsilon-caprolactone) (collagen-PLCL) membranes for cartilage tissue engineering. Materials & methods: Characteristics and mechanical properties of collagen-PLCL membranes were analyzed. The cell affinity of collagen-PLCL membranes with chondrocytes was also assessed. Then, the cell-scaffold constructs were engineered with collagen-PLCL membranes seeded chondrocytes by a sandwich model. After culture for 1 week in vitro, the constructs were implanted subcutaneously into nude mice for 4, 8 and 12 weeks, followed by evaluation of the quality of neocartilage. Results: Collagen-PLCL membranes exhibited excellent balanced properties without cytotoxicity. With the extension of implantation time in vivo, the constructs revealed more cartilage-like tissue especially at 8 and 12 weeks. The Young's modulus of the constructs also significantly increased and neared that of native cartilage at 12 weeks postimplantation. Conclusion: We suggest that collagen-PLCL membranes facilitate the formation of cartilage and thus may represent a promising scaffold for cartilage tissue engineering.