Three-dimensional PCL/collagen electrospun scaffolds with enlarged pores promote cell infiltration for vascular tissue engineering.

Cardiovascular disease remains one of the leading threats to human health. Owing to the limited availability of autologous vessels, the demand for vascular graft substitutes continues to rise. The design of tissue-engineered scaffolds that mimic the composition and architecture of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and facilitate vascular remodeling has become a major research focus in artificial blood vessel development. In this study, we investigated how the surface chemical and physical properties of vascular scaffolds influence cellular behavior. Polycaprolactone/collagen (PCL/Col) composite scaffolds were fabricated via electrospinning. The results demonstrated that the hydrophilic/hydrophobic characteristics of the fiber surface significantly affected cell adhesion and proliferation, with collagen incorporation markedly reducing the inherent hydrophobicity of PCL. In addition to chemical properties, the physical topographical cues were also evaluated. To overcome the small pore size typically associated with electrospun membranes, a three-dimensional PCL/Col fibrous scaffold was successfully constructed using a sodium borohydride gas-foaming method. This gas-foaming technique proved to be a simple and efficient approach to enlarging the pore size, thereby promoting cell infiltration, and holds promise as a practical method for preparing vascular basal layer scaffolds.