Design of Functional Electrospun Scaffolds Based on Poly(glycerol sebacate) Elastomer and Poly(lactic acid) for Cardiac Tissue Engineering

Many works focus on the use of polyesters such as poly(lactic acid) (PLA) to produce nanofibrous scaffolds for cardiac tissue engineering. However, such scaffolds are hydrophobic and difficult to functionalize. Here, we show that adding 30% of poly(glycerol sebacate) (PGS) elastomer within PLA leads to PLA:PGS scaffolds with improved biological properties, depending on the processing parameters. Two categories of fibers were produced by blend electrospinning, with diameters of 600 and 1300 nm. The resulting fibers were cured at 90 or 120 °C to achieve two different cross-linking densities. The designed scaffolds were considered for cytocompatibility, biocompatibility, biodegradability, and chemical and mechanical properties. Our results demonstrated that the presence of PGS increases the hydrophilicity of the material and thus improves surface functionalization by Matrigel or laminin coating, commonly used cell culture matrices. PLA:PGS scaffolds associated with Matrigel or laminin allow an increased material-cell interaction. Moreover, the cardiomyocytes seeded on such scaffolds acquire a morphology similar to that observed in native tissue, the result being more remarkable on fibers having the smallest diameter and the highest PGS cross-linking density. In addition, these scaffolds induce neovascularization without an inflammatory response and foreign body giant cell response after grafting on a mouse heart. Hence, the improved biocompatibility and the ability to support cardiomyocyte development suggest that thin PLA:PGS scaffolds could be promising biomaterials for cardiac application.