Abstract
The reconstruction of damaged tissues is a major public health issue. Organ donation is a viable solution, but the lack of a donor has led researchers to develop biomaterials to repair these damaged tissues. Currently, research is focusing on a new generation of biomaterials by giving them biomimetic and bioactive characteristics. However, the reconstruction of soft tissues (muscles, skin, veins) has not yet received viable solutions. Indeed, biomaterials do not simultaneously integrate all the characteristic properties of soft tissues such as high elasticity, anisotropy and fibrous structure. In addition, the biomaterials developed are generally not biodegradable and may cause long-term inflammation. This multidisciplinary project focuseson the development of new scaffolds for soft tissue regeneration. The objective is to create architected, fibrous and elastic 3D scaffolds from degradable block copolymers based on FDA approved PLA and PEG polymers for adhesion and cell guidance. The fibrous scaffold is obtained from the electrospinning technique. This technique using a polymer solution and a high electric field produces fibers at the micro/nanometric scale. The organization of these fibers is obtained by using micro-structured collectors whose arrangement of the mats allows control of the fiber deposition and the formation of a specific and well-defined microstructure. To modulate the degradation kinetics and mechanical properties of scaffolds, new degradable block copolymers were first synthesized then functionalized to develop photo-crosslinked elastomers with elastic properties. These new class of materials were then electrospun and characterized structurally and mechanically during the hydrolytic degradation process. The cytocompatibility of new materials was studied as well as the behavior of cells on 3D architected fibrous scaffolds to evaluate the impact and contribution of fibrous architecture for future soft tissue regeneration.