Poly(ε-caprolactone)/graphene oxide biocomposites: mechanical properties and bioactivity

Abstract

Biomedical applications of graphene have recently attracted intensive attention, with graphene-based nanomaterials being reported as promising candidates in, for example, drug delivery, biosensing and bioimaging. In this paper, mechanical properties and bioactivity of nanofibrous and porous membranes electrospun from graphene oxide (GO) nanoplatelets reinforced poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) were investigated. The results showed that the presence of 0.3 wt% GO increased the tensile strength, modulus and energy at break of the PCL membrane by 95%, 66% and 416%, respectively, while improving its bioactivity during biomineralization and maintaining the high porosity of over 94%. The mechanical enhancements were ascribed to the change in the fiber morphology and the reinforcing effect of GO on PCL nanofibers, whereas the improvements on the bioactivity stemmed from the anionic functional groups present on the GO surface that nucleated the formation of biominerals. Systematic studies on the PCL/GO nanocomposite films with varying GO concentrations revealed that the reinforcing effect of GO on PCL was due to the strong interfacial interactions between the two phases characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, the good dispersion of GO in the matrix and the intrinsic properties of GO nanoplatelets. The strong and bioactive PCL/GO nanofibrous membranes with a high porosity have great potential for biomedical applications.

Structural Effects of Residual Groups of Graphene Oxide on Poly(ε-Caprolactone)/Graphene Oxide Nanocomposite

“…Moreover, with excellent mechanical properties and large aspect ratio, GO can improve the mechanical properties of polymer matrix. Previous studies indicated that GO can enhance the mechanical properties of PCL matrix [12,13]. It has also been used to reinforce other polymer matrices, such as natural rubber [14], poly(arylene ether nitrile) [15], poly(vinyl chloride) [16], epoxy [17], silicone [18], polyurethane [19], poly(butylene succinate) [20], elastomer [21] and PP [22].…”

Graphene Oxide/Polymer‐Based Biomaterials

“…The authors stated that an electrostatic interaction occurred between the polycations of chitosan and the negative charges on the surface of GO in addition to hydrogen bonding. This [35] ESM by electrospinning N/A Tensile strength increase by 42 times with 0.02 wt% GO 0.1 wt%GO/PCL [25] ESM by electrospinning N/A 53% increase in tensile strength 0.3 wt%GO/PCL [36] ESM by electrospinning N/A Increased tensile strength, modulus and energy at break and bioactivity.…”

“…[142] PCL Nanofibers There is extensive work on the production of electrospun GO/ PCL nanofibers. For example, Wang et al [36] added 0.3 wt% GO/ PCL in DMF solution. With the addition of GO, the fiber diameter increased.…”

“…The authors therefore suggested the great potential of GO/PCL fibrous membranes in biomedical engineering applications. [36] In terms of effect of GO on the physical properties of the nanofibers, many contradictory results were found in the literature. Ramazani et al [25] studied the effect of the oxidation level of GO on the physical properties of GO/PCL electrospun fibers.…”

Current applications of graphene oxide in nanomedicine

“…13 GO contains a large amount of hydrophilic groups on its edge or basal planes; thus, sheets of small size and lower concentrations should be much more biocompatible. These properties make GO extremely attractive to a large swath of scientists with new applications in the fields of drug delivery, [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] parasitology, 26,27 tissue engineering (TE), [28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35] antibacterials, [36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44] cancer therapy, [45][46][47][48][49] sensors [50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][6...…”