Biomaterials
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The purpose of this study was to produce a well-characterised electrospun polystyrene scaffold which could be used routinely for three-dimensional (3D) cell culture experimentation. A linear relationship (p<0.01) between three principal process variables (applied voltage, working distance and polymer concentration) and fibre diameter was reliably established enabling a mathematical model to be developed to standardise the electrospinning process. Surface chemistry and bulk architecture were manipulated to increase wetting and handling characteristics, respectively. ⋯ Argon plasma treatment of electrospun polystyrene scaffold resulted in significantly increased cell attachment (p<0.05). The alignment factors of the actin filaments were 0.19 and 0.74 for the random and aligned scaffold respectively, compared to 0.51 for the native tissue. The data suggests that electrospinning of polystyrene generates 3D scaffolds which complement polystyrene used in 2D cell culture systems.