The effects of nanofiber topography on astrocyte behavior and gene silencing efficiency

• Main Authors: Cao, Haoqing, Marcy, Guillaume, Goh, Eyleen, Wang, Feng, Wang, Jun, Chew, Sing Yian
• Other Authors: School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Chemical engineering::Biochemical engineering
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/95802; http://hdl.handle.net/10220/17309
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Astrocyte-nanofiber interactions are studied by culturing primary rat cortical astrocytes on poly[caprolactone-co-(ethyl ethylene phosphate)] electrospun nanofibers and solvent-cast films (two-dimensional control). The results indicate that nanofiber topography significantly suppresses astrocyte proliferation and enhances apoptosis, without altering cellular activation as compared to films. Moreover, nanofiber topography enhances gene-silencing efficiency in astrocytes. The results suggest that nanofibers may serve as potential substrates for nerve regeneration by suppressing astrocyte growth and may further facilitate the use of gene-silencing to enhance CNS regeneration.