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Acknowledgment
This research was supported by the Kyung Hee University Research Fund in 2003 (KHU-2003112 cool and by the Korea Research Foundation Grant funded by the Korean Government.
Keywords
Electrospinning; Polyethersulfone; Stem cell; Nanofiber; Scaffold; Tissue engineering; Infiltration; Plasma treatment
Introduction
Construction of biocompatible scaffolds is one of the most leading areas in the field of tissue engineering. An ideal scaffold should mimic the structure and biological function of native extracellular matrix (ECM) as much as possible, both in terms of chemical composition and physical structure. One of the most important properties of ECM is its nanoscale structure which promotes cell attachment and function [1] and [2]. Researchers have found that CP690550 nanofibrous scaffolds play an important role in tissue engineering by providing a proper matrix for cell attachment, proliferation and differentiation [3], [4], [5], [6] and [7].
Recently, electrospinning has gained popularity with the tissue engineering community as a potential means of producing scaffolds [1] and [8]. In the electrospinning process, a high electric field is generated between a polymer solution, which is held in a syringe and a collector. The droplets of the polymer solution from the syringe tip are converted into Taylor cones by an electric field. When the voltage reaches a critical value, the electric forces overcome the surface tension on the droplet and a jet of ultrafine fibers is produced from the tip of the Taylor cones and will be gathered on the collector surface [9]. A variety of polymers have been used as scaffolds in tissue engineering. Among them PES can be used in biomedical applications like hemodialysis, filtration and ultrafiltration due to its positive attributes of a biomaterial. Consequently, this polymer is receiving increasing attention for use in tissue engineering [10], [11], [12] and [13].