Nature-Derived and Synthetic Additives to poly(ɛ-Caprolactone) Nanofibrous Systems for Biomedicine; an Updated Overview

Abstract

As a low cost, biocompatible, and bioresorbable synthetic polymer, poly (ɛ-caprolactone) (PCL) is widely used for different biomedical applications including drug delivery, wound dressing, and tissue engineering. An extensive range of in vitro and in vivo tests has proven the favourable applicability of PCL in biomedicine, bringing about the FDA approval for a plethora of PCL made medical or drug delivery systems. This popular polymer, widely researched since the 1970s, can be readily processed through various techniques such as 3D printing and electrospinning to create biomimetic and customized medical products. However, low mechanical strength, insufficient number of cellular recognition sites, poor bioactivity, and hydrophobicity are main shortcomings of PCL limiting its broader use for biomedical applications. To maintain and benefit from the high potential of PCL, yet addressing its physicochemical and biological challenges, blending with nature-derived (bio)polymers and incorporation of nanofillers have been extensively investigated. Here, we discuss novel additives that have been meant for enhancement of PCL nanofiber properties and thus for further extension of the PCL nanofiber application domain. The most recent researches (since 2017) have been covered and an updated overview about hybrid PCL nanofibers is presented with focus on those including nature-derived additives, e.g., polysaccharides and proteins, and synthetic additives, e.g., inorganic and carbon nanomaterials.

RETRACTED: Electrospun Ta-MOF/PEBA Nanohybrids and Their CH4 Adsorption Application

“…Fibrous nanostructures can be synthesized in various methods, and one of the most effective routes is electrospinning. This technique is rapidly developing from the single-fluid blending process ( Li et al, 2021a ; Homaeigohar and Boccaccini, 2022 ) to coaxial ( Sapountzi et al, 2020 ; He et al, 2021a ), side-by-side ( Li et al, 2021b ), tri-axial ( Wang et al, 2020 ) and other complicated processes ( He et al, 2021b ; Luo et al, 2021 ). These processes expand the capabilities of electrospinning in creating novel functional nanomaterials by encapsulating different kinds of functional ingredients, including nanoparticles ( Xue et al, 2021 ; Zhang et al, 2022 ).…”

Lipase-Responsive Amphotericin B Loaded PCL Nanoparticles for Antifungal Therapies

“…For instance, the presence of lipases at infection sites can be utilized in an on-demand strategy for the triggered delivery of antifungal drugs [ 11 ]. Polycaprolactone (PCL) has been widely used for designing drug-delivery platforms due to its biocompatibility and the fact that the polymer has already been approved by regulatory bodies for biomedical applications [ 15 ]. It is also well known that PCL is susceptible to degradation by lipases.…”

Potential of Electrospun Fibrous Scaffolds for Intestinal, Skin, and Lung Epithelial Tissue Modeling

“…[94] Finally, the studies on skin cell models produced markedly different results compared with the intestinal and lung cell models. Although several studies have shown the potential of pristine PCL [65] and PCL-based electrospun nano/microfibers scaffolds for culturing skin cells, [95][96][97][98][99][100][101] especially in the context of wound healing, few have considered PCL:cellulose composites. [79,[102][103][104][105][106] For example, Huang et al [103] prepared tri-layer nanofibrous scaffolds from PCL, CA, and chitosan that have been shown to promote adhesion, spreading, proliferation, segregation, and basal membrane production of human keratinocytes and fibroblasts…”