Preparation and Evaluation of Polyurethane-Based Nanofibers for Controlled Release of Simvastatin for the Treatment of Cardiac Disorders

Cardiac tissue engineering (CTE) is an important area of research due to the high demand for clinical applications. However, several challenges must be overcome to achieve success CTE. These challenges include cell-related issues such as low efficiency of cell seeding, poor cell survival rate, and immune rejection. In addition, designing and fabricating tissue constructs with suitable chemical and electromechanical properties for CTE is also difficult. The electrospinning technique is beneficial and can meet the requirements for use in CTE applications. The electrospinning technique can potentially solve common problems by producing a cell/nanofiber combination. In this article, we fabricated a copolymer scaffold containing gelatin (Gt) and polyurethane (Pu) using the electrospinning technique. The cytocompatibility of the nanofibers prepared to contain the H9C2-rat cardiomyoblast cell line incorporated in Gt was assessed by the 3-(4,5dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5 diphenyl tetrazolium bromide assay. Moreover, the controlled release and degradation rate of simvastatin were evaluated after its addition to the Pu-PGS-Gt group. Following that, the morphology of the nanofibers produced in diverse experimental groups (Pu, Pu-PGS, Pu-PGS-Gt, Pu-PGS-Gt-SIM) was monitored by the SEM method. The results indicate that adding simvastatin significantly improved cell viability in the Pu-PGS-Gt-SIM, and all scaffolds exhibited defect-free morphologies. Gt-SIM when added to the Pu-PGS-Gt solution, the diameter of the nanofibers decreased from 1.62 to 0.86 nm compared to Pu as a control group. Additionally, the drug release profile of the SIM when incorporated in nanofibers after 168 h is approximately 85% indicating the control release profile and prolonged drug delivery-based nanofiber properties. The results obtained confirmed that the presence of SIM in Pu-PGS-Gt nanofibers could provide a desirable approach for cell therapy in patients with ischemic heart disease.