Coaxial Electrospinning of Multicomponent Fiber Membranes for Sustained Oxygen Supply in Hypoxic Environment

A major challenge for cell and tissue transplantation is providing a sustaining environment for newly transplanted cells and tissues. They require a temporary oxygen source since newly transplanted cells and tissues are not yet connected to the recipient's vascular system. Here we report on core‐sheath fiber membranes formed using the coaxial electrospinning process that contain calcium peroxide (CPO) embedded in the fiber core to provide a source of oxygen by diffusion from the fibers over a period of multiple days. Embedding the enzyme catalase in the fiber sheath as a catalyst is found to significantly reduce the production of cytotoxic hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) by ~59% and to increase the overall amount of oxygen released up to ~28% after 4 days of release. CPO‐containing PCL/PVP‐PEO core‐sheath fiber membranes produced enhanced cell viability of > 90% at Day 5 for metabolically active pancreatic beta cell spheroids in a hypoxic environment, while non‐CPO control cases resulted in no surviving cells at Day 5. Preliminary investigations with the incorporation of lysozyme as a model protein in the fiber core for eventual growth factor incorporation have yielded promising sustained release of lysozyme up to 10 days.