Enhancing mechanical and biodegradation properties of polyvinyl alcohol/silk fibroin nanofibers composite patches for Cardiac Tissue Engineering

Abstract A biodegradable polyvinyl alcohol/silk fibroin (PVA/SF) nanofibrous heart patch with unique tensile properties was fabricated by an electrospinning technique based on a water-solvent system. The fabricated heart patches were exposed to 2% Glutaraldehyde vapor to provide a cross-linkage and tune the degradation behavior. Numerous characterizations of the modified PVA/SF patches such as surface morphology, chemical bonding, mechanical behavior, biodegradation, and biological assessment of the crosslinked PVA/SF patches were performed. It was found that pronounced and interconnected PVA/SF composite fibrous patches had an average nanofiber diameter of 228 ± 49 nm. In addition, incorporation of SF into PVA nanofibers enhanced the mechanical properties (i.e. tensile strength and tensile modulus) and tuning the degradation rate of the PVA/SF patch. Human cardiac fibroblast cells (HCFC) were cultured on the cross-linked composite patches and the results showed good cell proliferation and attachment on the patches bio-interface.