Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 729 Ross Research Building, 720 Rutland Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA

Correspondence: Kam W. Leong, Fax: +1 443 287 3099. E-mail: kleong@bme.jhu.edu

Received 23 July 2005; Revised 24 December 2005; Accepted 27 December 2005.

Abstract

We investigated a novel nonwoven fibrous scaffold as a vehicle for delivery of DNA. Fibers were formed by polyelectrolyte complexation of water-soluble chitin and alginate, and PEI–DNA nanoparticles were encapsulated during the fiber drawing process. Nanoparticles released from the fibers over time retained their bioactivity and successfully transfected cells seeded on the scaffold in a sustained manner. Transgene expression in HEK293 cells and human dermal fibroblasts seeded on the transfecting scaffolds was significant even after 2 weeks of culture compared to 3-day expression in two-dimensional controls. Fibroblasts seeded on scaffolds containing DNA encoding basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) demonstrated prolonged secretion of bFGF at levels significantly higher than baseline. This work establishes the potential of this fibrous scaffold as a matrix capable of delivering genes to direct and support cellular development in tissue engineering.