Electrospun polycaprolactone nano-fibers support growth of human mesenchymal stem cells

Electrospun polycaprolactone (PCL) layers with sub-micron fibres arranged in random, semi-aligned and aligned manners were prepared and their anisotropic mechanical property were further characterised at various stretching angle. Proof of principle study was carried out to assess biocompatibility of electrospun layers with human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). Cell adhesion, viability and orientation outcomes showed that aligned PCL nano-fibers can be applied as a template to guide the alignment of hMSCs and could be a promising scaffold for tissue engineering of anisotropic annulus fibrosus in spinal inter-vertebral disc.