Stretching of porous poly (l-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) membranes regulates the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells
Open accessAbstract
Background: Among a variety of biomaterials supporting cell growth for therapeutic applications, poly (l-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) (PLCL) has been considered as one of the most attractive scaffolds for tissue engineering owing to its superior mechanical strength, biocompatibility, and processibility. Although extensive studies have been conducted on the relationship between the microstructure of polymeric materials and their mechanical properties, the use of the fine-tuned morphology and mechanical strength of PLCL membranes in stem cell differentiation has not yet been studied. Methods: PLCL membranes were crystallized in a combination of diverse solvent–nonsolvent mixtures, including methanol (MeOH), isopropanol (IPA), chloroform (CF), and distilled water (DW), with different solvent polarities. A PLCL membrane with high mechanical strength induced by limited pore formation was placed in a custom bioreactor mimicking the reproducible physiological microenvironment of the vascular system to promote the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) into smooth muscle cells (SMCs). Results: We developed a simple, cost-effective method for fabricating porosity-controlled PLCL membranes based on the crystallization of copolymer chains in a combination of solvents and non-solvents. We confirmed that an increase in the ratio of the non-solvent increased the chain aggregation of PLCL by slow evaporation, leading to improved mechanical properties of the PLCL membrane. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the cyclic stretching of PLCL membranes induced MSC differentiation into SMCs within 10 days of culture. Conclusion: The combination of solvent and non-solvent casting for PLCL solidification can be used to fabricate mechanically durable polymer membranes for use as mechanosensitive scaffolds for stem cell differentiation.
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Surface modification of PLCL scaffolds can give material different surface chemical properties and structural morphology, and promote differentiation of stem cells in different directions.
“the surface modification of PLCL scaffolds can further give the material different surface chemical properties and structural morphology, and promote the differentiation of stem cells in different directions [225, 226].”
From Application of PLCL as a biodegradable polymer in biomedical engineering (2026) · cites this paper as [225]
The Results (§3.3; page unavailable) show that solvent–nonsolvent processing changes the microstructure of PLCL membranes. The Abstract reports MSC differentiation into smooth muscle cells under cyclic stretching. The paper does not show that surface modification changes PLCL surface chemistry or directs stem cells toward different lineages. (LLM, conf=0.88)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThrough various fabrication techniques and by incorporating drugs, cells, or bioactive factors, PLCL has been successfully applied across diverse fields, including skin wound healing, neural repair, osteochondral regeneration, vascular and urethral graft fabrication, biological meshes, drug delivery, and stem cell culture.
“Furthermore, through various fabrication techniques and by incorporating drugs, cells, or bioactive factors, PLCL has been successfully applied across diverse fields, including skin wound healing, neural repair, osteochondral regeneration, vascular and urethral graft fabrication, biological meshes, drug delivery, and stem cell culture [1, 18, 196, 225, 229–231].”
From Application of PLCL as a biodegradable polymer in biomedical engineering (2026) · cites this paper as [225]
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“In addition, the surface modi fi cation of PLCL scaffolds can further give the material different surface chemical properties and structural morphology, and promote the differentiation of stem cells in different directions [225, 226].”
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- Authors
- Lee, G., Han, S.-B., Kim, S. H., Jeong, S., & Kim, D.-H.
- Affiliations
- Johns Hopkins University (US)
- Korea University (KR)
- Corresponding author
- Jeong, Sangmoo
- Kim, Dong-Hwee
- Venue
- Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media SA
- Published
- 2024-01-25
- Volume
- 12
- Pages
- 1303688-1303688
- ISSN
- 2296-634X (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC10850303
- OpenAlex
- W4391228164
- Cited by
- 6
- References
- 64
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 2
- FWCI
- 0.66
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- National Research Foundation of Korea (2022M3H4A1A03067401 2V09840-23-P024 RS-2023-00251315 RS-2023-00221182 2021R1A5A2022318)
- Ministry of Science and ICT, South Korea (IITP-2023-2020-0-01819)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Bone Tissue Engineering Materials
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Surgery › Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine
- Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Biomaterials › biodegradable polymer synthesis and properties
- Keywords
- poly(L-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone), mesenchymal stem cells, smooth muscle differentiation, cyclic strain, porosity control, membrane mechanics, vascular tissue engineering, bioreactors
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