Blending chitosan‐g‐poly(caprolactone) with poly(caprolactone) by electrospinning to produce functional fiber mats for tissue engineering applications

Abstract

Use of electrospun fiber mats for tissue engineering applications has become increasingly prominent. One of the most important polymers in research, poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL), however, lacks biological performance, easy access to modifications and cellular recognition sites. To improve these properties and to enable further modifications, PCL was blended with chitosan grafted with PCL (CS-g-PCL) and subsequently processed via electrospinning. In this way, chitosan was enriched at the fiber's surface presenting cationic amino groups. The fiber mats were analyzed by various techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Furthermore, analyzing thermal properties and crystallinity, showed that an increased content of CS-g-PCL in blend composition leads to a higher overall crystallinity in produced fiber mats. Blending CS-g-PCL into PCL significantly increased initial cellular attachment and proliferation as well as cell vitality, while maintaining adequate mechanical properties, fiber diameter, and interstitial volume. As proof of principle for easy access to further modification, fluorescently labeled alginate (Alg-FA) was attached to the fiber's surface and verified by CLSM. Hence, blending CS-g-PCL with PCL can overcome an inherent weakness of PCL and create bioactive implants for tissue engineering applications.

3D Hierarchical, Nanostructured Chitosan/PLA/HA Scaffolds Doped with TiO2/Au/Pt NPs with Tunable Properties for Guided Bone Tissue Engineering

“…Such biomaterials can have a form of nanofibers, hydrogels, metal alloys, β-TCP, HA powders, and granules or bioactive glasses [10,11]. Among them, the most promising ones are nanofibrous scaffolds, which can be prepared through electrospinning of the polymer solution since they biomimic natural ECM architecture [12][13][14][15][16]. Their properties, such as high surface area and porosity make them a highly desired materials in terms of bone-tissue-defect treatment [17][18][19].…”

“…The most common ones are collagen, fibrin, gelatin, chitin, and its derivatives, or alginate; additionally, biodegradable polymers, such as PLGA/PLA and PCL are widely used [21][22][23][24]. Notably, their low durability and fast degradability means that they must be used in conjunction with other materials [14][15][16]. Electrospinning enables preparation of micro-and nanofibers, using both raw polymers solution as well as composites and nanocomposites [19].…”

Hybrid Bilayer PLA/Chitosan Nanofibrous Scaffolds Doped with ZnO, Fe3O4, and Au Nanoparticles with Bioactive Properties for Skin Tissue Engineering

“…This can be overcome by preparing blends with other polymers, such as FDA-approved poly (lactic acid) (PLA) or poly (caprolactone) (PCL). However, the aforementioned materials, although they undergo biodegradation, when used in a too high concentration, they may lead to local inflammation of the surrounding tissues due to the pH decrease [5][6][7][8].…”

“…Two-dimensional meshes prepared using electrospinning were found to restrict cellular penetration, which negatively affected the healing process. Currently used three-dimensional or hybrid nanofibrous materials enable cells infiltration due to the enlarged pores size and also promote their proliferation and extracellular matrix formation as well as endothelialization [4][5][6]13].…”

“…Until now, it has been shown that scaffolds created from synthetic polymers exhibit moderate biocompability, whereas the choice of natural ones results in the preparation of materials with very poor mechanical properties and a too high degradation rate [6][7][8][9]. Thus, the most promising ones are composites.…”