Biochemistry & Analytical Biochemistry

Electroactive PCL nanofibers coated by polypyrrole for nerve tissue engineering

International Conference on Biochemistry

October 10-12, 2016 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Sajjad Shafei

Deakin University, Australia

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: Biochem Anal Biochem

Abstract:

Electrically excitable tissues like nerve and muscle have shown promising results in regeneration on conductive scaffolds. In this study, a solution of 14% PCL electrospun was used on a rotating collector forming nanofibers with the average diameter of 430 nm. The fiber mats are dip coated by the conducting polymer PPy (polypyrrole) to form a substrate capable of stimulation of nerve cells. Ninety percent porosity of the conductive scaffold with more than double the Young�??s modulus compared to non-coated PCL met the required properties of nerve scaffolds. PC12 cells along with nerve growth factor, cultured on the aligned nanofibers and stimulated by a constant voltage of 0.01 V/cm for 1 h/day for three days. Formation of neurites in the direction of fibers suggests that the electroactive PCL-PPy scaffold can support the differentiation of PC12 cells into nerve cells. The flexible and stable fibrous scaffold with conductivities ranging up to 1.9 S/cm showed the potential applications of these membranes in neural tissue engineering.

Biography :

Email: sshafei@deakin.edu.au