Biocompatible Crosslinked Nanofibers of Poly(Vinyl Alcohol)/Carboxymethyl‐Kappa‐Carrageenan Produced by a Green Process

Abstract

This study presents a new type of biocompatible nanofiber based on poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and carboxymethyl‐kappa‐carrageenan (CMKC) blends, produced with no generation of hazardous waste. The nanofibers are produced by electrospinning using PVA:CMKC blends with ratios of 1:0, 1:0.25, 1:0.4, 1:0.5, and 1:0.75 (w/w PVA:CMKC) in aqueous solution, followed by thermal crosslinking. The diameter of the fibers is in the nanometer scale and below 300 nm. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy shows the presence of the carboxyl and sulfate groups in all the fibers with CMKC. The nanofibers from water‐soluble polymers are stabilized by thermal crosslinking. The incorporation of CMKC improves cytocompatibility, biodegradability, cell growth, and cell adhesion, compared to PVA nanofibers. Furthermore, the incorporation of CMKC modulates phenotype of human adipose‐derived stem cells (ADSCs). PVA/CMKC nanofibers enhance ADSC response to osteogenic differentiation signals and are therefore good candidates for application in tissue engineering to support stem cells.

Marine Biopolymers as Bioactive Functional Ingredients of Electrospun Nanofibrous Scaffolds for Biomedical Applications

“…Aqueous solutions of carrageenans are generally highly viscous and difficult to electrospin [ 90 ]. As a result, there are only a few reports in the literature describing carrageenan electrospun nanofibers.…”

“…It has been reported that carboxymethylation of κ-carrageenans, affording structural analogues of heparin, may improve their properties, lowering the solution viscosity and enhancing the antibacterial and anticoagulant activities [ 90 , 93 ]. Along these lines, Madruga et al (2020) investigated the development of carboxymethyl-κ-carrageenan/PVA electrospun nanofibers as a biomaterial for tissue engineering applications.…”

Expanding the Repertoire of Electrospinning: New and Emerging Biopolymers, Techniques, and Applications

“…[126] PVA/GE/CS fibrous scaffolds prepared using water and acetic acid (with 9% w/v polymer) as a noncarcinogenic solvent system and crosslinked by glutaraldehyde (GA) vapor showed potential application for soft tissue engineering. The fibers showed no cytotoxicity to L929 mouse fibroblast cells, and SEM results demonstrated that Desired application References GE/CS (13% w/v) 10 cm/15-25 kV/0.6-1 mL h −1 TFE/water (100:0-50:50) Scaffold for skin, cartilage, and cornea tissue engineering [ 126] CS/PVA (15% w/w) (7:3/5:5) 25 cm/20 kV/1.5 mL h −1 Distilled water Biocompatibility and controlled drug release [ 127] PCL (13% w/v) CHI/SCHI (2% w/v -90/10) 10 cm/11 kV/0.4 mL h −1 FA/AA (3:1) 0.5% AA EDC/NHS cross-linking Scaffolds for cell proliferation and spreading [ 128] PCL (17% w/v) CS (2% w/v) 20 cm/12 kV/1.0 mL h −1 Chloroform/DMF (70:30) EDC/NHS cross-linking Scaffolds for cartilage tissue engineering [ 129] PVA (10% w/v) SA (4-10% w/v) PVA (5% w/v) CMKC (1.25-3% w/v) 15 cm/15 kV/1.0 mL h −1 Deionized water Thermal cross-linking Scaffolds to support cell differentiation [ 135] Wound dressings for wound healing [ 136] PVA (9% w/v) SA (0.9-2.7% w/v) 10 cm/15 kV/0.4 mL h −1 Deionized water GA cross-linking Scaffolds for neural tissue engineering [ 137] PCL (12.5% w/v) GE/CS (13% -85:15)…”

“…The addition of a sulfated polymer to the fibers enhanced ADSC response to osteogenic differentiation signals, showing that sulfated polymers are great candidates for application in tissue engineering to support stem cells (Figure 4). [135] PVA/CMKC fibers also showed potential application as wound dressings for wound healing due to their increased procoagulant and antibacterial activities when compared to the pure PVA fibers. CMKC contributed to higher platelet adhesion and activation on the fibers, coagulation in contact with human whole blood, and bactericidal activity to Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria.…”

“…d) SEM images of ADSCs after 14 and 21 days of culture on the fibers.PVA fibers was used as control samples. Reproduced with permission [135]. Copyright 2020, Wiley-VCH GmbH.…”