4. Conclusion
Electrospinning cellulose acetate and cellulose acetate with annatto
extract yielded nanofibers with porous structures and no specific
alignment. Annatto extract provided a significant increase in the
wetness of the nanofiber, boosting biocompatibility, but did not
significantly affect the chemical or thermal stability of the
nanofibers. Mechanical analysis suggested that the annatto extract acts
as a plasticizer between the polymer molecules.
In vitro testing confirmed
that the porous nature of electrospun nanofibers permits cell migration
and potential formation of multiple layers of muscle-like tissue, an
essential property for meat cultivation. The nanofibers loaded with
annatto extract were seen to induce myoblast proliferation in the MTT
assay while delaying the onset of differentiation during myogenesis.
Molecular analysis confirmed that CA nanofiber with annatto extract
impaired the differentiation process, indicating that annatto extract
does not synergize with the cell differentiation phenotype for C2C12
cells. In broad terms, these results suggest that cellulose acetate
nanofiber loaded with annatto extract have potential for applications as
a scaffold in the cultivated meat industry.
Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher
Education Personnel (CAPES, Brazil) for financial support, and Dr. Paul
Zaslansky of the Department for Operative and Preventive Dentistry at
Charité–Universitätsmedizin in Berlin, Germany for use of the Phenom
SEM. Thanks to the Microscopy Center at the Federal University of Minas
Gerais (http://www.microscopia.ufmg.br) for providing equipment and
technical support for experiments involving electron microscopy. Thanks
also to the Gamma Irradiation Laboratory installed at the Nuclear
Technology Development Centre (CDTN), for the sterilization of the
biomaterials.
Data availability statement: The data that support the findings
of this study are available from the corresponding author upon
reasonable request.