Scaffolding is less intrusive for damaged urethral tissue regeneration compared to tissue grafting. The study focuses on polyurethane-decellularized extracellular matrix (PU-dECM) scaffolds electrospun produced from varying PU-dECM concentrations and electrospinning voltages for the production of tunable biomimetic scaffolds as an alternative specialized urethral restoration method. Porcine urethra dECM was produced through immersion-sonication at 0.5% w/v sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), followed by solubilization. PU and dECM were dissolved in 7:3 dimethyl sulfoxide : ethanol (DMSO:EtOH) solvent at ratios of 90:10, 85:15, and 80:20 for a total polymer concentration of 9.5% w/v. Following this, electrospinning was conducted at 29 kV-35 kV, 3.75 ml·h –1 flowrate for 90 min. Viscosity decreased while conductivity increased with increasing dECM concentration. Increasing dECM concentration also decreased the Young’s moduli, and the concentration-voltage interaction introduced a significant effect on the Young’s moduli. The treatments of 80:20-29 kV, 90:10-29 kV, and 90:10-32 kV (PU:dECM ratio-electrospinning voltage) were predicted to have Young’s moduli close to that of the human urethra at 0.034±0.01 MPa and were selected as candidate fibers for characterization. Fibers with random orientation and diameters of 1.05-1.41 μm, 1.34-1.51 μm, and 1.30-1.45 μm respectively were produced. Coating of dECM is observed from FTIR spectra. For urethral scaffold applications, the 90:10@29 kV fibers reported the best hydrophilicity at 46.34±24.07°. • Increasing dECM concentration decreases blend viscosity but increases conductivity • 80:20-29 kV, 90:10-29 kV, and 90:10-32 kV fibers match human urethra mechanically • 90:10-29 kV fibers are most suitable based on hydrophilicity
Gervacio et al. (Sun,) studied this question.