Abstract
In the present study, Poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) nanofibrous scaffolds were synthesized by electro-spinning for soft tissue replacement at a voltage of 20 kV and polymer solution feed rate of 1 mL/h. These were characterized using various morphological, elemental and other analytical techniques. The SEM results indicated that the as-spun nanofibers are uniform, smooth and bead-free over its length. The in-vitro degradation of PLGA showed that the Proteinase K has a great effect on PLGA degradation rate. The PLGA nanofibers thermal behavior indicated that the PLGA has glass transition temperature (T-g) around 50 degrees C with no melting point. The tensile DMA results showed a strong dependence of the viscoelastic behavior of PLGA scaffolds on testing frequency, where the storage modulus (El) increased with increasing the testing frequency while the loss modulus (E '') decreased. The DMA results also showed that E '' decreased dramatically with increasing the testing temperature where its value increased up to the T-g. The Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells results showed that the cell proliferation and viability was high on the PLGA scaffold. After a short duration, the proliferation was increasing and it almost reached the same level as cells grown in the tissue culture plate. Initially, the cells toke some time to attach to the scaffold, however after some time they recovered and grew at the same rate as cells on the control surface. In conclusion, the PLGA scaffolds used in this study constitute a promising material for culturing these types of cells and for tissue engineering.