Hydrodynamically stable adhesion of endothelial cells on gelatin electrospun nanofibrous scaffolds

In the current research, electrospun gelatine fibers for vascular tissue egineering was successfully fabricated with the aim of increasing the adhesion and stability of cells under shear stress. The gelatin solutions were prepared with different amount of gelatin (10, 15, 20 and 25% wt) which dissolved in different ratios of co-solvent acetic acid/water (1:9, 1:3 and 1:1). The experiments showed the best conditions for electrospinning of the gelatin solution in where the concentration was 25% wt gelatin while it was dissolved in the ratio of 1:9 (v/v) water/acetic acid and the applied voltage was 23 or 25 kV. The SEM images revealed the average size of diameter were about 190 and 210 nm, respectively. For studying the cell adhesion properties of fabricated scaffolds under shear stress, a parallel plate flow chamber with different flow rates was used. Here, Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVECs) were either maintained in static condition or exposed to laminar shear stress (48 ml/min) for 12 h. This study shows that the constructed gelatin scaffold is remarkably suited for stable adhesion of cells under shear stress.