Effect of ethanol treatment on Poly(L)lactic acid electrospun fibre morphology

Electrospun (ES) materials are considered highly promising scaffolds for tissue engineering given their particular fibrous morphology that resembles the fibrous component of tissue extracellular matrix. ES scaffolds made of commercial bioresorbable polyesters can be dramatically affected by commonly employed sterilization methods (e.g. autoclaving, ethylene oxide, -rays), thus they are usually disinfected with ethanol (EtOH) before being used in contact with a biological environment. However, even if less extensively, also EtOH disinfection might affect ES scaffold morphology and, consequently, the response of cells cultured onto them. This work aims at investigating the effect of EtOH sterilization on poly(L)lactic acid (PLLA) ES scaffold and in particular on its phase morphology (amorphous to crystalline ratio). The morphological changes of PLLA non-woven mats treated at different temperatures by using EtOH solutions with different concentration, were compared. Moreover, the behaviour of H9c2 cardiac cells seeded onto PLLA scaffolds treated with EtOH was investigated.