The Creation of Electrospun Nanofibers from Platelet Rich Plasma

Abstract

Activated platelet rich plasma (a PRP) contains supra physiologic amounts of autologous growth factors and cytokines known to enhance wound healing and tissue regeneration. Here we report the first results of electro spinning nanofibers from a PRP to create fibrous scaffolds that could be used for various tissue engineering applications. Human platelet rich plasma (PRP) was created, activated by a freeze-thaw-freeze process, and lyophilized to form a powdered preparation rich in growth factors (PRGF). It was dissolved in 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-propanol (HFP) at different concentrations to form fibers with average diameters of 0.3 ? 3.6 ?m. A sustained release of protein from the PRGF scaffolds was demonstrated up to 35 days, and cell interactions with the PRGF scaffolds confirmed cell infiltration after just 3 days. As electro spinning is a simple process, and PRGF contains naturally occurring growth factors in physiologic ratios, creating nanofibrous structures from PRGF has the potential to be beneficial for a variety of tissue engineering applications.