Manufacturing a Three-Dimensional Bioprinted and Oriented Electrospinning Dual-Scale Scaffold to Promote Cellular Alignment and Enhance Structural Elasticity for Muscular Functioning

Every day, at least 22 people pass away while waiting for a vital organ donation. Biomanufacturing artificial organs have the potential to address the organ scarcity crisis and save lives. This study investigates muscle tissue engineering by combining 3D bioprinting and electrospinning methods to create a dual-scale scaffold (a porous block of 10 mm × 10 mm × 3.5 mm). The dual-scale scaffold contains multiple layers of 3D bioprinted microstructures and an integrated polycaprolactone (PCL) electrospun nanofiber matrix. The most significant limitation of using 3D-printed scaffolds relates to the ineffectiveness of cellular elongation resulting in resistance to the adsorption of muscle bundles. Synthetic nanofibers used in this study have the potential to influence the alignment of the cells in a specific direction, which improves the effectiveness of holistic muscle functioning through cooperative contraction and relaxation of the muscle cells. The 3D bioprinted microstructures serve as a gap collector and a flexible structure to allow extension and contraction of the cellular structure. Electrospun nanofibers form aligned mesh networks within the 3D printed scaffold's pores and are deposited perpendicular to the direction of the 3D bioprinted scaffold layer lines. The three-dimensional dual scaffold will be manufactured, characterized, sterilized, and then used as a scaffold for muscle cell culturing. The attachment, growth, viability, proliferation, and alignment of muscle cells are examined using fluorescence microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and cellular assays to verify these characteristics.