FABRICATION AND EVALUATION OF THE MORPHOLOGY, BIODEGRADABILITY,AND CHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NANO-FIBROUS SCAFFOLD POLY-L-LACTIC-ACID (PLLA) AND ITS APPLICATION IN NEURAL TISSUE ENGINEERING

Nerve tissue engineering (NTE) is one of the most promising methods for the treatment of the central nervous system (CNS) neurodegenerative diseases. The three-dimensional distribution and growth of the cells within the porous of the scaffold have a significance clinical role in the NTE field. Scaffolds used in tissue engineering, not only must have a good performance, but they should also be porous, biocompatible and biodegradable. The present work aimed to fabricate and study the morphology, biodegradability and chemical characteristics of Poly-L-Lactic-Acid (PLLA) in order to use in the neural tissue engineering. In this experimental study, PLLA nano scaffold was fabricated with an appropriate structure and morphology using Electrospinning Technique. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) were used to determine the physico-chemical properties of the scaffold. Scaffold biodegradation was studied in Phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) for 40 days. Isolated stem and progenitor cells from subventricular zone of the adult mouse brain were cultured on the scaffold and their morphology and connection properties were characterized using SEM. SEM studies indicated that PLLA is a nano-fibrous scaffold which shows the appropriate surface characteristics. Furthermore, this nanoscaffold showed a high degradation and water uptake rate in the degradation test. Finally, SEM studies confirmed the attachment and growth of the mouse neural stem and progenitor cells on the scaffold. These results suggested that the PLLA nano scaffold is an appropriate structure for the growth and differentiation of the neural stem and progenitor cells and the electrospining technique is an efficient method for the scaffold producing used in the nerve tissue engineering.