Fabrication of multi-biofunctional gelatin-based electrospun fibrous scaffolds for enhancement of osteogenesis of mesenchymal stem cells.

Biofunctional scaffolds that support the adhesion, proliferation, and osteo-differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are critical for bone tissue engineering. In this study, a simple in situ UV-crosslinking strategy was utilized to fabricate gelatin electrospun fibrous (GEF) scaffolds with multiple biosignals, including cell adhesive Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) peptide, osteo-conductive hydroxyapatite (HAp) nanoparticles, and osteo-inductive bone morphogenic protein-2 (BMP-2). The adhesion and proliferation of MSCs on the GEF scaffolds were improved by the incorporation of RGD. Meanwhile, the incorporation of HAp and BMP-2 enhanced osteo-differentiation of MSCs. The three incorporated bio-factors exert a synergistic effect on osteogenesis of MSCs in the GEF scaffolds. This strategy of incorporating multiple biomolecules could be used to fabricate crosslinked electrospun scaffolds of natural polymers for tissue-engineering applications.