# Antigate Melt-Electrowritten Biodegradable Mesh Implants for Enhanced Pelvic Organ Prolapse Repair
## 4 Discussion
On the one hand, its incorporation will control the charge's distribution on the material surface, resulting in a more stable and controlled jet that is stretcheduniformly, leading to thinner fibers. On the other hand, this HT incorporation resulted in increased tensile strength and stiffness. For the specific case of POP repair, it is ideal to have a mesh that provides good support and can withstand high loads while still providing flexibility, avoiding problems like stress shielding. Incorporating the adequate HT concentration in PCL meshes enables achieving the ideal mesh stiffness and tensile strength. Since the influence of HT on fiber diameter is already understood, selecting an appropriate HT concentration allows the printed PCL/HT mesh to achieve a diameter capable of supporting loads comparable to native tissue. Furthermore, this would increase the mesh's stiffness to the point that the mesh mimics the vaginal tissues' characteristics and behavior. Regarding the stiffness and the stress shielding problem, it is also a fact that, unlike synthetic meshes, it is expected that these meshes will be absorbed after 2 to 3 years of implantation, so even if the mesh is slightly stiffer than the native tissue, it would not be such a problem as it is with the synthetic meshes. These meshes are designed for POP repair, making it crucial to assess both their mechanical behavior under load and their cytotoxicity. Cytotoxic test results showed that all tested concentrations of HT (up to 0.1 wt%) maintained cell viability above 90%, fulfilling the ISO 10993-5 standard for non-cytotoxic biomaterials. While other studies [43] using pellets reported cytotoxicity at 0.1 wt%, our results with printed mesh structures suggest that the final product's geometry and surface area can mitigate adverse effects. These findings are in line with previous research using PCL scaffolds and confirm the safe application of low-dose HT in biomedical contexts. The evaluation of two sterilization methods (UV and EtOH+UV) showed no statistically significant differences in cell viability across all HT concentrations and the control group. [PERSON] et al. [28] found that neither method affected the morphology, molecular weight, or thermal properties of electrospun PCL nanofibers, though EtOH soaking resulted in higher cell viability. [PERSON] et al. [44] reported similar findings on polyurethane scaffolds but noted that neither method alone ensured complete sterilization. Although prior studies have reported higher biocompatibility with ethanol pre-treatment [28], differences in soaking time and the absence of post-rinse steps may explain the uniform outcomes observed in our study. In this context, both sterilization methods proved effective and suitable for MEW-based PCL/HT meshes. The incorporation of the antistatic agent HT into PCL improved mesh performance for POP repair by enabling the fabrication of finer, more uniform fibers, enhancing print resolution and mechanical properties such as tensile strength and stiffness. These improvements result in meshes that better mimic the mechanical behavior of vaginal tissue. Additionally, thinner fibers reduce the total amount of implanted material, which may minimize the foreign-body response and improve tissue integration. Combined with confirmed biocompatibility, these features highlight the potential of antistatic melt-electrowritten biodegradable meshes as advanced candidates for POP treatment.