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Mechanical Properties Enhancement of Hydrogel Scaffolds Using Combination of Electrospun Nanofibers

Moghaddam Deymeh, Saeed | 2016

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  1. Type of Document: M.Sc. Thesis
  2. Language: Farsi
  3. Document No: 48776 (06)
  4. University: Sharif University of Technology
  5. Department: Chemical and Petroleum Engineering
  6. Advisor(s): Mashayekhan, Shohreh
  7. Abstract:
  8. Cardiovascular disease is responsible for a majority of health problem in developing countries. Heart diseases are the leading cause of death in the United State with approximately 40% of the death occurs by heart failures and coronary artery defects. Myocardial infarction is one of the diseases that occurs by coronay artery blockage. Cardiac tissue engineering (CTE) is an emerging field that holds great promise towards the development of innovative treatment strategies for heart disease. There are two common scaffolds for CTE, electrospun fiber mats and hydrogels. Although fibers are known as 3D environment for cells, they actually act as a 2D surface, because of lack of cell infilteration. Since hydrogels possess a 3D environment, they are more applicable in CTE. However, they suffer from lack of good mechanical properties. Therefore, by combining these two types of scaffolds, it would be possible to attain a desired 3D environment with good mechanical properties. In this study, nanofiber reinforced composite hydrogels were fabricated by incorporating poly (ε-caprolactone) (PCL)/gelatin nanofibers into chitosan/ECM hydrogels. The morphological and mechanical properties of the nanocomposite hydrogels were evaluated and the results indicated that the moduli of the nanofiber reinforced hydrogels were remarkably higher than those of hydrogel alone. The tensile test results indicate that by varing the ratio of both hydrogel and nanofibers components, moduli between 1 to 3 Kpa and 5 to 100 Mpa could be achieved, respectively. By similar test, the native heart moduli was measured 31 Kpa. By incorporating electrospun PCL/Gelatin:Chitosan/ECM (the ratio of 2:1), satisfactory mechanical properties close to that of native heart were obtained
  9. Keywords:
  10. Mechanical Properties ; Nanofiber ; Hydrogel ; Heart Tissue Engineering ; Hydrogel Scaffold ; Nanocomposite Scaffold ; Electrospun Nanofibers

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