Fabrication of a nanofibrous scaffold with improved bioactivity for culture of human dermal fibroblasts for skin regeneration

Engineering dermal substitutes with electrospun nanofibres have lately been of prime importance for skin tissue regeneration. Simple electrospinning technology served to produce nanofibrous scaffolds morphologically and structurally similar to the extracellular matrix of native tissues. The nanofibrous scaffolds of poly(L-lactic acid)-co-poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PLACL) and PLACL/gelatin complexes were fabricated by the electrospinning process. These nanofibres were characterized for fibre morphology, membrane porosity, wettability and chemical properties by FTIR analysis to culture human foreskin fibroblasts for skin tissue engineering. The nanofibre diameter was obtained between 282 and 761 nm for PLACL and PLACL/gelatin scaffolds; expressions of amino and carboxyl groups and porosity up to 87% were obtained for these fibres, while they also exhibited improved hydrophilic properties after plasma treatment. The results showed that fibroblasts proliferation, morphology, CMFDA dye expression and secretion of collagen were significantly increased in plasma-treated PLACL/gelatin scaffolds compared to PLACL nanofibrous scaffolds. The obtained results prove that the plasma-treated PLACL/gelatin nanofibrous scaffold is a potential biocomposite material for skin tissue regeneration.