Tubular Scaffold Design of Poly(L-lactic acid) for Nerve Tissue Engineering: Preparation, Characterization, and In Vitro Assay

In this study, nerve guidance material was designed and fabricated from crystalline poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) with microtubules orientation structure by using thermalinduced phase separation (TIPS) technique and dioxane as solvent. Factors such as polymer concentration and temperature-gradient of the system which affect solvent crystallization, microtubules orientation structure, and tubs diameters of the scaffold have been studied. Thus, the tubular morphology, diameter and orientation of the microtubules could be controlled by adjusting the concentration of the polymer solution and temperature-gradient of the system. In vitro P19 mouse embryonic carcinoma cell line was used as a suitable model system to analyze neuronal differentiation. Tubular morphology and differentiation of P19 cells were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Results showed that these conditions provide tubular morphology with varying tubs diameters. By evaluating P19 cell differentiation into neuron cells that was confirmed by immunofluorescence staining technique it was shown that most of the cells attached and differentiated on the surface of the scaffold, through which axons penetrated randomly.