Development of biodegradable webs of PLA/PCL blends prepared via electrospinning: Morphological, chemical, and thermal characterization

Abstract

Biodegradable polymers have a mean role to mimic native tissues and allow cells to penetrate, grow, and proliferate with their advanced features in tissue engineering applications. The physiological, chemical, mechanical, and biological qualities of the surfaces, which are presented from biodegradable polymers, affect the final properties of the scaffolds. In this study, it is aimed to produce fibrous webs by electrospinning method for tissue engineering applications using two different biopolymers, polylactic acid (PLA) and polycaprolactone (PCL). These polymers are used either alone or in a blended form (PLA/PCL, 1/1 wt.). Within the scope of the study, polymer concentrations (6, 8 and 10%) and solvent types (used for chloroform/ethanol/acetic acid mixture, PCL and PLA/PCL mixtures, and chloroform/acetone, PLA) vary as solution parameters. Fibrous webs are investigated in terms of morphological, chemical, and thermal characteristics. Results show continuous fibers are examined for 8 or 10% polymer concentrations with an average fiber diameter of 1.3–2.7 μm and pore area of 4–9 μm2. No fiber formation is observed in sample groups with a polymer concentration of 6% and beaded structures are formed. Water contact angle analysis proves the hydrophobic properties of PLA and PCL, whereas Fourier‐transform infrared results show there is no solution residue on the surfaces, so there is no toxic effect. Also, in differential scanning calorimetry analysis, the characteristic crystallization peaks of the polymers are recognized, and when the polymers are in a blend, it beholds that they have effects on each other's crystallization.

Biological and physiochemical studies of electrospun polylactid/polyhydroxyoctanoate PLA/P(3HO) scaffolds for tissue engineering applications

“…Regarding the pore size and porosity estimated by ImageJ soware, ber diameter determines the average pore size as was reported in the literature 24 and follows the trend observed for diameter size distribution. Therefore, the neat PLA sample with the highest ber diameter had an average pore size of 12.9 mm, while PLA/PHO bers were characterized with the lower values of estimated pore size, with the lowest calculated for the 50PLA-50PHO ber which had the smallest ber diameter in the series (Table 4).…”

A Preliminary Study Examining the Burst Strength of Vascular Tubular Scaffolds

“…This is a result of PLA's improved mechanical properties [16]. Although PLA has a great mechanical strength, its stiff structure prevents it from possessing the flexibility that vascular grafts should have [6]. PCL, on the other hand, has a relatively lower burst resistance than PLA.…”

“…Due to its exceptional mechanical qualities, including high elongation, slow biodegradation time, biocompatibility, and cell survival, polycaprolactone (PCL) is a particularly desirable material for vascular graft applications [5]. Moreover, another aliphatic polyester, polylactic acid (PLA), is also in demand because of its high strength, biocompatibility, and biodegradability [6].…”

Electrospinning of PLA Nanofibers: Recent Advances and Its Potential Application for Food Packaging

“…Materials with a low water vapor permeability turn out to be better choices; however, some polysaccharide and protein-based materials possessed poor barrier properties, limiting their commercial application for packaging. Previous studies have proven the good hydrophobicity of PLA; thus, the addition of PLA is able to enhance the water barrier properties of nanocomposites. − Hajikhani et al successfully fabricated reinforced edible gluten films by introducing PLA nanofibers between two gluten layers . They figured out that the PLA nanofibers attached on the gluten film could improve by 13.9% in the barrier properties.…”