Modulation of piezoelectric properties in electrospun PLLA nanofibers for application-specific self-powered stem cell culture platforms

There is an increasing effort to utilize piezoelectric materials as a self-powered platform electrically stimulate cells/tissues in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering applications. Poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) holds great potential for biological applications due its biodegradability, especially nanofibrous form prepared by electrospinning. However, the mechanism underlying realization transformation of piezoelectricity not well understood. In this study, design-of-experiment approach was employed systematically dissect effects dimensional control heat treatment on performance electrospun PLLA nanofibers. Specifically, we revealed that fiber diameter- treatment-dependent phase content change between electrospinning-induced amorphous crystalline ?/?’ phases responsible transverse longitudinal directions. Such modulation properties nanofibers critical determining differentiation efficiency stem cells phenotype-specific manner, where neurogenesis osteogenesis were enhanced orthogonal shear piezoelectricity, respectively. Overall, our findings highlight with precisely controlled through systematic cell platforms, specific target tissues.