Polyvinyl alcohol/sulfated alginate nanofibers induced the neuronal differentiation of human bone marrow stem cells

Scaffolds that are used for neural tissue engineering are fabricated to mimic the extracellular matrix. In this paper, we have fabricated polyvinyl alcohol/sulfated alginate (PVA/SA) nanofibers with different concentrations (10, 20 and 30 wt%) of sulfated alginate by electrospinning technique. The average fibers diameters of 169–488 nm were achieved by electrospinning of polymers blend (PVA/SA). The results of the MTT assay and scanning electron microscopy showed that PVA/sulfated alginate nanofibrous scaffold with 30 wt% SA provided more desirable surface attachment of C6, Schwann cells (SCs) and human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs). RT-PCR and immunocytochemistry for MAP-2 marker were conducted to confirm the neural-differentiation of hBMSCs. The expression of MAP-2 confirmed neural differentiation for up to 14 days. Our results showed that PVA/SA nanofibrous scaffold with 30 wt% SA is a suitable substrate for mesenchymal stem cells growth and is capable of inducing neuronal differentiation.