Biofunctionalised polycaprolactone fibrous mat as a transfer tool for cell sheet engineering

Cell sheet technology is a unique technique in tissue engineering where cell sheets are generated from thermoresponsive substrates, by simple variation of temperature. Though the cell sheets have intact cell-cell and cell-extra cellular matrix junctions, the transfer of large sheets needs a carrier or transfer tool to prevent it from rolling and folding. In this study polycaprolactone electrospun mats with porous fibers (PPCL) functionalized with thrombin is proposed as a cell sheet transfer tool. The biofunctionalised mats were evaluated for cytocompatibility and analyzed for its efficiency to form a clot when exposed to blood plasma. This property was utilized to use the mats for cell sheet engineering. The efficacy of the biofunctionalised mat as a carrier was successfully demonstrated in the transfers of human lung epithelial and mouse fibroblast cell sheets generated from a thermoresponsive N-Isopropylacrylamide-co-Glycidylmethacrylate substrates. The clot acts like a sacrificial adhesive between the cells and the mat making the later to be used as a carrier tool in cell sheet engineering.