Abstract

Background and Objective: Poly D, L-lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) is known as biodegradable and biocompatible polymer. These polymers have recently received much attention in tissue engineering. The aim of this study was to investigate the biological behavior of the bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) in culturing with PLGA nanofibers coated with poly-L-lysine or gelatin. Materials and Methods: In this study, the electrospinning of PLGA nanofibers was performed with hexafluoro-2-propanol (HFIP) as solvent and coated with gelatin and poly-L-lysine, separately. The properties of polymers were investigated with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis and contact angles were studied. After culturing BMSCs and reaching passage two, cells in the four groups of nanofibers, nanofibers PLGA, PLGA nanofibers coated with poly-L-lysine, and PLGA nanofibers coated with gelatin, were grown. Cell proliferation during the second, fourth and sixth days were examined by Acridin Orange and morphology of the cells seeded on nanofibers were investigated via SEM. Results: The mean diameter of PLGA nanofibers were between 270 -700 nm. The average contact angles were 107.66° for PLGA, 64.58 for PLGA coated with gelatin and 40.12 for poly-L-lysine-coated PLGA, respectively. The results showed significant reduction in cell proliferation in PLGA nanofibers alone (P <0.05). But this number increased in groups of nanofibers coated with poly-L-lysine and gelatin. Conclusion: Culture of Schwann cells with PLGA nanofibers coated with gelatin and particularly coated with poly-L-lysine provide a biodegradable scaffold associated with Schwann cells.