Electrospun PGS/PCL nanofibers: From straight to sponge and spring‐like morphology

Abstract

Poly(glycerol sebacate) (PGS) is an attractive polymer that has many applications in medical fields, especially in tissue engineering. In this study, the influence of solvent system on electrospinnability, forming of bead-free nanofibers and the morphology of PGS nanofibers was investigated and discussed. Among different solvents, the acidic solvent as a benign solvent was used for electrospinning. The steps were as follows: (a) Synthesis the PGS pre-polymer and analysis its chemical structure by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR); (b) Electrospinning of the PGS by mixing PCL in eight different solvent systems; (c) evaluation the morphology of produced nanofibers using the scanning electron microscope (SEM); (d) the study of biocompatibility of produced nanofibers by MTT assay. The average diameter of nanofibers in different solvent systems turned out to vary from 260 ± 63 to 4588 ± 970 nm and nanofibers with different morphologies were produced by changing the solvent system. Among the produced straight nanofibers, the best samples were FA 30,15 (formic acid), FA/AC 30,15 (formic acid/Acetone), FA/AA 30,15 (formic acid/acetic acid), CF/DMF 20,15 (chloroform/N,N-dimethylformamide), FA/AA 35,15 , and CF/DMF 23,15 , respectively (based on size and morphology). Also, the produced nanofibers in CF/ET (chloroform/ethanol) had a rough surface. When AA was used as solvent and polymer concentration was kept 35% w/v, sponge-like scaffold was produced. Moreover, spring-like nanofibers were fabricated by using DMF, (at 30% w/v) and AC (in all polymer concentrations). MTT results also demonstrated that CF/DMF 20,15 as produced sample via hazardous solvents (class 3) is biocompatible. These scaffolds can be used in different tissue engineering applications according to their morphology.

Biocompatible graphene‐embedded PCL/PGS‐based nanofibrous scaffolds: A potential application for cardiac tissue regeneration

“…PGS polymer with the molar ratio of 1:1 sebacic acid and glycerol was synthesized according to our previous report 31 . Briefly, both sebacic acid and glycerol were added to a three‐neck flask that was immersed in heated silicon bath and the reaction was held at 120°C for 24 h (Figure 1a).…”

“…PGS polymer with the molar ratio of 1:1 sebacic acid and glycerol was synthesized according to our previous report. 31 Briefly, both sebacic acid and glycerol were added to a three-neck flask that was immersed in heated silicon bath and the reaction was held at 120 C for 24 h (Figure 1a). It must be mentioned that before adding sebacic acid to glycerol, it was held in a vacuum oven at 50 C, 200 mbar for 24 h. Also, the reaction was carried out under an inert gas such as nitrogen atmosphere.…”

Poly(Glycerol Sebacate) in Biomedical Applications—A Review of the Recent Literature

“…[ 96 ] As a result, PGSp must be blended with a spinnable carrier polymer to allow non‐destructive fiber formation by electrospinning. According to its specific application ranging from soft to hard TE also including drug delivery, synthetic polymers like PCL, [ 16,19,21,29,33,38,45,97–111 ] poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), [ 96,112–114 ] poly(butylene succinate‐ co ‐dilinoleic succinate) PBS‐DLS, [ 115,116 ] PLA, [ 117 ] poly( l ‐lactic acid) (PLLA), [ 118,119 ] (PEO), [ 120 ] PLGA, [ 121,122 ] polyethersulfone (PSF), [ 123 ] polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), [ 124 ] polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), [ 125,126 ] TPU, [ 35 ] and natural polymers like collagen, [ 127 ] gelatin, [ 128 ] fibrinogen, [ 129 ] zein, [ 130,131 ] and chitin and lignin [ 132 ] have been used for blending with PGS for successful electrospinning. Additional to blending PGS with another polymer, electrospinning of PGS within a core–shell system has been reported too where the sacrificial polymer is used as a shell which will be removed after PGS cross‐linking.…”

“…[96] As a result, PGSp must be blended with a spinnable carrier polymer to allow nondestructive fiber formation by electrospinning. According to its specific application ranging from soft to hard TE also including drug delivery, synthetic polymers like PCL, [16,19,21,29,33,38,45,[97][98][99][100][101][102][103][104][105][106][107][108][109][110][111] poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), [96,[112][113][114] poly(butylene succinateco-dilinoleic succinate) PBS-DLS, [115,116] PLA, [117] poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA), [118,119] (PEO), [120] PLGA, [121,122] polyethersulfone (PSF), [123] polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), [124] polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), [125,126] TPU, [35] and natural polymers like collagen, [127] gelatin, [128] fibrinogen, [129] zein, [130,131] and chitin and lignin…”

Electro‐conductive nanofibrous structure based on PGS/PCL coated with PPy by in situ chemical polymerization applicable as cardiac patch: Fabrication and optimization

“…The strong signal at 1727 cm À1 belongs to the ester group, which is present in both polymers and resulted from the integration of peaks at 1739 cm À1 in the PGS polymer and 1724 cm À1 in the PCL polymer. 40,50 In the spectrum of PPy-coated nanofiber, the peak at 1412 cm À1 corresponds to the stretching vibration of the Py ring. The peak at 1257 cm À1 is devoted to in-plan = C H vibration.…”