Development of a PCL/gelatin/chitosan/β-TCP electrospun composite for guided bone regeneration

Abstract

Many approaches have been developed to regenerate biological substitutes for repairing damaged tissues. Guided bone/tissue regeneration (GBR/GTR) that employs a barrier membrane has received much attention in recent years. Regardless of substantial efforts for treatment of damaged tissue in recent years, an effective therapeutic strategy is still a challenge for tissue engineering researchers. The aim of the current study is to fabricate a GBR membrane consisting of polycaprolactone (PCL)/gelatin/chitosan which is modified with different percentages of β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) for improved biocompatibility, mechanical properties, and antibacterial activity. The membranes are examined for their mechanical properties, surface roughness, hydrophilicity, biodegradability and biological response. The mechanical properties, wettability and roughness of the membranes are improved with increases in β-TCP content. An increase in the elastic modulus of the substrates is obtained as the amount of β-TCP increases to 5% (145–200 MPa). After 5 h, the number of attached cells is enhanced by 30%, 40% and 50% on membranes having 1%, 3% and 5% β-TCP, respectively. The cell growth on a membrane with 3% of β-TCP is also 50% and 20% higher than those without β-TCP and 5% β-TCP, respectively. Expression of type I collagen is increased with addition of β-TCP by 3%, while there is no difference in ALP activity. The results indicated that a composite having (3%) β-TCP has a potential application for guided bone tissue regeneration.

Graphene oxide incorporated polycaprolactone/chitosan/collagen electrospun scaffold: Enhanced osteogenic properties for bone tissue engineering

“…Moreover, it seems that the chitosan concentration and ratio in the mixture are also important parameters. The result of this study agrees with a previous report which used PCL/gelatin/chitosan with the ratio of 2:2:1 . Although the ratio of the chitosan increased in the present study, it seems it was not sufficient to induce bactericidal activity.…”

“…Therefore, the shift of original absorption bands toward the lower wave numbers and the appearance of OH band in composite scaffold indicates that there are some interactions among the amino, carbonyl, and hydroxyl groups of these components. These interactions may be due to hydrogen bonding which possibly was formed among amino groups of collagen, hydroxyl groups of chitosan, and carbonyl groups of PCL . The addition of the GO into the PCL/chitosan/collagen scaffold did not cause a significant change in the peaks.…”

“…Incorporating the GO into the scaffolds adds hydrophilic groups which in turn increase the capacity for absorbing water. A previous study also showed that by increasing the hydrophilicity of the PCL/gelatin/chitosan scaffolds its degradation rate increases . Another reason for the higher degradation rate of the scaffolds with a higher ratio of GO might be due to the saturation of scaffolds with GO which make them brittle …”

“…In PCL/chitosan/collagen composite scaffold, all the characteristic bands of PCL, chitosan, and collagen were observed but shifted toward the lower wave numbers. PCL/chitosan/collagen composite scaffold showed common peaks at approximately 1645 cm –1 (CNH 2 ) and 1525 cm –1 (CNH), and 3440 cm –1 due to NH stretching of an amide bond . Two absorption peaks at 1710 and 1240 cm –1 corresponding to the characteristic peak of PCL, which were originally situated at 1720 and 1290 cm –1 , were shifted toward relatively lower wave numbers.…”

“…Also, electrospinning is a suitable choice to combine the benefits of GO and composite polymers . Previous studies fabricated composite scaffolds using either 2 polymers of PCL/collagen and PCL/chitosan or 3 polymers of PCL/collagen/elastin and PCL/gelatin/chitosan . Some previous studies also incorporated GO into single or binary polymer nanofibers .…”