Electrospun captopril‐loaded PCL‐carbon quantum dots nanocomposite scaffold: Fabrication, characterization, and in vitro studies

Abstract

Electrospinning as an effective and accessible method is known to yield scaffolds with desired physical, chemical, and biological properties for tissue engineering. In the present study, captopril (CP)-loaded polycaprolactone (PCL)/carbon quantum dots (CQDs) nanocomposite scaffolds were fabricated for bone tissue regeneration. The microstructure and hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity ratio of scaffolds were assessed by scanning electron microscopy and wettability test, respectively. The results showed that the presence of CQDs and CP in the scaffolds decreased the fiber diameter (1180 ± 281.5-345 ± 110 nm) and also it led to an increase in the surface hydrophilicity (137-0) of scaffolds. Evaluation of the scaffolds' functional groups was performed using Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy. The ultimate tensile strength of scaffolds was in the range of 6.86 ± 0.00 to 22.09 ± 0.06 MPa. Distribution of CQDs in the scaffolds' fibers was investigated by transmission electron microscopy and fluorescent spectrometer. The cell viability, attachment, proliferation, and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity of scaffolds were assessed in vitro. Based on the overall results, the scaffold containing CQDs and CP led to a significant increase in the cells' proliferation and ALP activity. Therefore, the PCL/CQDs/CP is recommended as a potential nanocomposite scaffold for bone tissue regeneration.

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“…It was evident that the OD values of cell viability was significantly higher for the PLA-CQD nanocomposite compared to pure PLA at 4 and 7 days (p < 0.05). The tests also demonstrated that the PLA-CQD nanocomposite promoted cell adhesion, due to the surface roughness of PLA-CQD, resulting from CQD incorporation as it has been proven that the CQD improves the cell compatibility of scaffolds providing adhesion and proliferation with no appreciable cytotoxicity 20,63. Further, we observed that the OD values of ADSCs also increased due to enhanced hydrophilicity, resulting in increased protein adsorption.…”

“…16 Due to enhanced thermal conductivity, mechanical strength and heat resistance along with improved biocompatibility and biodegradability, these nanocomposites are superior to other nanocomposites. As additives, carbon-based nanomaterials, 17 such as carbon nanotubes (CNT), graphene, 18 and carbon quantum dots (CQDs) 19,20 are gaining attention, because of their unique optoelectronic, magnetic, chemical inertness, 21 biocompatibility and nonblinking, stable fluorescence, 22 for use in drug delivery, biosensing, bioimaging, and biomedicine. 23 Carbon-based nanocomposites has been used in cellular imaging andtracking 24 and graphene foam improved flexibility of polymers.…”

Carbon nanomaterials for drug delivery and tissue engineering

“…Non-invasive scaffolds based on CD-peptide-mixed tannin-polyurethane (CDP-f-PU) fabricated by Gogoi et al (2017) exhibited higher biocompatibility, osteoconductivity and osteodifferentiation ability in bone-tissue regeneration. Ghorghi et al (2022) fabricated Captopril/CQDs/polycaprolactone (CP-CQDs-PCL) nanocomposite scaffolds with reduced fiber diameter due to the conductive properties of CQDs in the scaffolds ( Figure 8 ). The scaffold with 0.5% CQD significantly increased the adhesion, proliferation and ALP activity of MG-63 cells, which was sufficient for bone-tissue engineering applications.…”

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“…For example, Ghorghi et al revealed that the incorporation of CQDs into the polycaprolactone- captopril (PCL-CP) scaffold led to an enhanced tensile strength (22.09 ± 0.06 MPa) and Young’s modulus (2.83 ± 0.23 MPa) than that of pure PCL scaffold (tensile strength 6.86 MPa and Young’s modulus 0.15 MPa). The result was attributed to the decreasing fiber diameter of the PCL-CP scaffold in the presence of CQDs [ 108 ]. Another study by Omidie and his coworker described that the tensile strength, percentage elongation, and Young’s modulus of CD-chitosan scaffold significantly increased to 79 ± 4.4 MPa, 9.1 ± 0.22, and 2.88 ± 0.17 GPa, respectively, by the addition of 1% CDs to pure chitosan scaffold (64 ± 3.1 MPa, 8.6 ± 0.19, and 2.26 ± 0.20 GPa, respectively) [ 109 ].…”

“…The incorporation of CQDs into SF-PLA scaffolds significantly enhanced the cell adhesion, proliferation, and mRNA expression of cardiac genes (Tnnc1, Tnnt2, Cx43, and Atp2a2) without any external electrical supply. Ghorghi et al fabricated captopril/CQDs/polycaprolactone (CP-CQDs-PCL) nanocomposite scaffold through the electrospinning method and observed that CQDs in the scaffold led to the decrease in the fiber diameter due to its electrically conductive nature [ 108 ]. The mechanical strength of the prepared scaffold increased while decreasing the fiber diameter.…”