Effect of Solvent on Electrospun PLLA Fiber Mechanical Characteristics and Ligament Fibroblast Responses Available to Purchase

Due to the poor healing ability of anterior cruciate ligaments (ACL), surgical interventions with graft materials are often needed to reconstruct the knee joint. Electrospinning is widely utilized to manufacture highly aligned fibrous materials. When cultured on such substrates, ligament fibroblasts are known to exhibit elongation and enhanced collagen production [1, 2]. Poly-L-lactic-acid (PLLA) is a popular biocompatible material with high mechanical strength, and is most often used in electrospinning with chloroform as solvent. Hexafluoropropanol (HFP), another solvent, generates more uniform and consistent electrospun PLLA fibers. In this study, we investigated the effects of electrospun PLLA fiber scaffolds using different solvent on ligament tissue engineering. PLLA fibers electrospun with chloroform or HFP were compared for their structure and mechanical characteristics. We also investigated their effects on ligament cell morphology and proliferation. Further analysis of composite fiber bilayers were also performed [3].