Designing Well-Organized Touch-Spun 3D Scaffolds: The Role of Interfiber Spacing in Cell Proliferation

Three groups of touch-spun 3D scaffolds with uniform fiber diameters and varying interfiber spacing were studied to identify optimal conditions for NIH/3T3-GFP fibroblast growth. All scaffold groups exhibited higher cell viability relative to control levels after 14 days of culture, with the highest viability observed for scaffolds with a 50.61 {+/-} 15.35 m interfiber spacing. Although cell counts indicated comparable cell growth across groups, scaffolds with medium and large interfiber spacing demonstrated an improved capacity to sustain viable cells without necrotic core formation. These findings provide insight into the optimal structural design of touch-spun 3D scaffolds for tissue engineering applications.