Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare Center

2 ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN JoVE

Neuroscience

The Culture of Primary Motor and Sensory Neurons in Defined Media on Electrospun Poly-L-lactide Nanofiber Scaffolds

Michelle K. Leach¹, Zhang-Qi Feng², Caitlyn C. Gertz³, Samuel J. Tuck³, Tara M. Regan³, Youssef Naim³, Andrea M. Vincent³, Joseph M. Corey^1,3,4

¹Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, ²State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, Southeast University, ³Department of Neurology, University of Michigan , ⁴Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center, Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Health System

Aligned electrospun fibers direct the growth of neurons in vitro and are a potential component of nerve regeneration scaffolds. We describe a procedure for preparing electrospun fiber substrates and the serum-free culture of primary rat E15 sensory (DRG) and motor neurons. Visualization of neurons by immunocytochemistry is also included.

Bioengineering

Electrospinning Fundamentals: Optimizing Solution and Apparatus Parameters

Michelle K. Leach¹, Zhang-Qi Feng^1,2, Samuel J. Tuck³, Joseph M. Corey^1,3,4

¹Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, ²State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, Southeast University, ³Department of Neurology, University of Michigan, ⁴Geriatrics Research, Education and Clinical Center, Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare Center

Electrospinning techniques can create a variety of nanofibrous scaffolds for tissue engineering or other applications. We describe here a procedure to optimize the parameters of the electrospinning solution and apparatus to obtain fibers with the desired morphology and alignment. Common problems and troubleshooting techniques are also presented.