Electrospun fiber membranes enable proliferation of genetically modified cells

trospun fiber membranes enable proliferation of genetically modified cells Original Research (922) Total Article Views Authors: Borjigin M, Eskridge C, Niamat R, Strouse B, Bialk P, Kmiec EB Published Date February 2013 Volume 2013:8 Pages 855 - 864 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/IJN.S40117 Received: 09 November 2012 Accepted: 16 December 2012 Published: 27 February 2013 Mandula Borjigin*, Chris Eskridge*, Rohina Niamat, Bryan Strouse, Pawel Bialk, Eric B Kmiec Department of Chemistry, Delaware State University, Dover, DE, USA *These authors contributed equally to this work Abstract: Polycaprolactone (PCL) and its blended composites (chitosan, gelatin, and lecithin) are well-established biomaterials that can enrich cell growth and enable tissue engineering. However, their application in the recovery and proliferation of genetically modified cells has not been studied. In the study reported here, we fabricated PCL-biomaterial blended fiber membranes, characterized them using physicochemical techniques, and used them as templates for the growth of genetically modified HCT116-19 colon cancer cells. Our data show that the blended polymers are highly miscible and form homogenous electrospun fiber membranes of uniform texture. The aligned PCL nanofibers support robust cell growth, yielding a 2.5-fold higher proliferation rate than cells plated on standard plastic plate surfaces. PCL-lecithin fiber membranes yielded a 2.7-fold higher rate of proliferation, while PCL-chitosan supported a more modest growth rate (1.5-fold higher). Surprisingly, PCL-gelatin did not enhance cell proliferation when compared to the rate of cell growth on plastic surfaces.