Bioactive microgel coated electrospun membrane with cell-instructive interfaces and topology for abdominal wall defect repair

Current mesh materials used for the clinical treatment of abdominal defects struggle to balance mechanical properties and bioactivity to support tissue remodeling. Therefore, a bioactive microgel coated electrospinning membrane was designed with the superiority of cell-instructive and topology in guiding cell behavior and function for abdominal wall defect reconstruction. The electrostatic spinning technique was employed to prepare a bioabsorbable PLCL fiber membrane with effective mechanical support. And decellularized matrix (dECM) derived bioactive microgels were further coated on the fiber membrane through co-precipitation with dopamine, which was expected to endow with cell-instructive hydrophilic interfaces, and also topological morphologies for cell adhesion. Moreover, the introduction of dECM into the microgel was able to promote myogenic proliferation and differentiation of C2C12 cells. Subsequently, in vivo experiments using a rat abdominal wall defect model demonstrated the bioactive microgel coating significantly contributed to the reconstruction of intact abdominal wall structures, highlighting its potential for clinical application in promoting the repair of soft tissue defects associated with abdominal wall damage. This study presented an effective mesh material for facilitating the reconstruction of abdominal wall defects, and also contributed novel design concepts for surface modification of scaffolds with cell-instructive interfaces and topology.