Abstract: The nanofibrous film of polyurethane(PU) with aligned topography was fabricated by electrospinning for human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVEC) growth. The morphology of nanofibrous film was observed and characterized by scanning electron microscopy(SEM). The cells growth behavior including proli-feration, cytoskeleton formation of actin, tublin and vinculin, and tissue factor(TF) release was investigated via cell viability assay, confocal observation and TF assay. The average diameter of the generated fiber was around 300—500 nm. The experimental results indicate that the aligned nanofibrous film of PU exhibited promotional influence on the cell proliferation. It was also observed that the film possessed an advantage of supporting HUVEC migrating and aggregating along the axis of the aligned nanofibers, which is one of the important functions in the process of endothelium regeneration. It was also demonstrated that the endothelial cells growing on the film expressed non-thrombogenic phenotype with low tissue factor released. These results indicate the favorable interactions between ECs and the film, implying that the aligned nanofibrous film of PU has a promising potential for vascular engineering.

Key words: Aligned nanofibrous polymer film, Electrospun, Vascular endothelial cell