Preparation and Characterization of Crimped <scp>PLA</scp> Fibers With Surface Porous Structure to Promote Cell Adhesion and Growth

ABSTRACT Electrospun fibrous scaffolds are widely used in vascular tissue engineering because they are able to mimic the organizational structure and biological function of a natural extracellular matrix. Improving the topological structure and mechanical properties of electrospun fibrous scaffolds is crucial for achieving good interaction between cells and materials. Herein, oriented polylactic acid (PLA) fibers with surface porous structure were prepared by electrospinning. The orientation degree of the surface porous structure (84.77° ± 5.61°) was highly consistent with the orientation degree of the fiber (83.66° ± 7.31°), which improved the porosity of the fiber and promoted the adhesion of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Then, by heat treatment, oriented PLA fibers with a surface porous structure were formed into a crimped state, which mimics the crimped structure and nonlinear mechanical properties of the elastic fibers within the blood vessel wall. The crimped PLA fibers with surface porous structure significantly improved the aspect ratio of HUVECs and promoted HUVECs‐oriented growth, which shows certain potential applications in vascular tissue engineering.