Characterization and intracellular mechanism of electrospun poly (ε-caprolactone) (PCL) fibers incorporated with bone-dECM powder as a potential membrane for guided bone regeneration

Various approaches have been made to successfully regenerate tissues or organs. One approach is to design a bioengineered scaffold which simulate the native environment of tissues and organs. This study examined the efficacy of a PCL based fibrous scaffold embedded with decellularized bone extracellular matrix (bdECM) fabricated using electrospinning process. Electrospun fibers are known to mimic the structure of the natural ECM, while bdECM can provide a rich environment for the human mesenchymal stem cells to adhere and differentiate. We found that the bdECM particles strongly influenced the surface characteristics of the fabricated scaffolds such as wettability, water uptake ability, and surface roughness. Also, the cell adhesion depending on the bdECM content was studied in depth. As a result, increased bdECM content in the scaffold showed enhanced cell adhesion and proliferation. Moreover, the ALP activity, calcium deposition, and gene expression results indicate that the bdECM particles had significant effect on osteogenic differentiation. In the present study, the feasibility of the bdECM/PCL scaffold was demonstrated which can be used as a potential biomedical device for hard tissue regeneration.