The effect of pore size within fibrous scaffolds fabricated using melt electrowriting on human bone marrow stem cell osteogenesis

Limitations associated with current bone grafting materials has necessitated the development of synthetic scaffolds that mimic the native tissue for bone repair. Scaffold parameters such as pore size, pore interconnectivity, fibre diameter, and fibre stiffness are crucial parameters of fibrous bone tissue engineering (BTE) scaffolds required to replicate the native environment. Optimum values vary with material, fabrication method and cell type. Melt electrowriting (MEW) provides precise control over extracellular matrix (ECM)-like fibrous scaffold architecture. The goal of this study was to fabricate and characterise poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL) fibrous scaffolds with 100, 200, and 300 μm pore sizes using MEW and determine the influence of pore size on human bone marrow stem cell (hMSC) adhesion, morphology, proliferation, mechanosignalling and osteogenesis. Each scaffold was fabricated with a fibre diameter of 4.01 ± 0.06 μm. The findings from this study highlight the enhanced osteogenic effects of controlled micro-scale fibre deposition using MEW, where the benefits of 100 μm square pores in comparison with larger pore sizes are illustrated, a pore size traditionally reported as a lower limit for osteogenesis. This suggests a lower pore size is optimal when hMSCs are seeded in a 3D ECM-like fibrous structure, with the 100 μm pore size optimal as it demonstrates the highest global stiffness, local fibre stiffness, highest seeding efficiency, maintains a spread cellular morphology, and significantly enhances hMSC collagen and mineral deposition. Similarly, this platform represents an effective in vitro model for the study of hMSC behaviour to determine the significant osteogenic benefits of controlling ECM-like fibrous BTE scaffold pore size using MEW.