Preparation and Characterization of Gelatin–Poly(L-lactic) Acid/Poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyvalerate) Composite Nanofibrous Scaffolds

Abstract

Poly(L-lactic) acid (PLLA) scaffolds, prepared by electrospinning technology, have been suggested for use in tissue engineering. They remain a challenge for application in biological fields due to PLLA's slow degradation and hydrophobic nature. We describe PLLA, PLLA/poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV), and PLLA/PHBV/gelatin (Gt) composite nanofiberous scaffolds (Gt-PLLA/PHBV) electrospun by changing the electrospinning technology. The morphologies and hydrophilicity of these fibers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and water contact angle measurement. The results showed that the addition of PHBV and Gt resulted in a decrease in the diameters and their distribution and greatly improved the hydrophilicity. The in-vitro degradation test indicated that GT-PLLA/PHBV composite scaffolds exhibited a faster degradation rate than PLLA and PLLA/PHBV scaffolds. Dermal fibroblasts viabilities on nanofibrous scaffolds were characterized by [3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] (MTT) assay and cell morphologies after 7 days culture. Results indicated that the GT-PLLA/PHBV composite nanofibers showed the highest bioactivity among the three scaffolds and increased with increasing time. The SEM images of cells/scaffolds composite materials showed the GT-PLLA/PHBV composite nanofibers enhanced the dermal fibroblasts's adhesion, proliferation, and spreading. It is suggested that the nanofibrous composite scaffolds of GT-PLLA/PHBV composites would be a promising candidate for tissue engineering scaffolds.

Different osteoconductivity of PLLA/PHB composite nanofibers prepared by one‐ and two‐nozzle electrospinning

“…The survival rate of the cells was not different much before 12 days, but after that, the rate of cell growth in the scaffold with separate fibers (S‐PLLA/PHB) has increased significantly, which can be due to the increased cell adhesion and protein adsorption capacity of S‐PLLA/PHB nanofibrous scaffold, which can be due to the separate presence of PHB nanofibers 32 . In agreeing with our results, Feng et al demonstrated that electrospun PLLA nanofibers biocompatibility was increased when blended with poly (hydroxybutyrate‐co‐hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV), and also they informed that between PLLA and PLLA/PHBV nanofibers, the composite nanofibers degraded faster than PLLA nanofibers 33 …”

Physical modification approaches to enhance cell supporting potential of poly (vinyl alcohol)‐based hydrogels

“…As for the air plasma, the attack of the oxygen radicals, would likely lead to the formation of activated C═O bonds on the surface of PVA [Figure 3(c)]. Similar mechanism has been also mentioned by others for irradiation of PVA in the presence of air 35,36 …”

Analysis of Porous Electrospun Fibers from Poly(l-lactic acid)/Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) Blends

“…18 Feng et al demonstrated that the utilization of PHBV alongside PLLA improves the biocompatibility and wettability of electrospun polymer scaffolds used for tissue engineering over neat electrospun PLLA. 11 The biocompatibility of PLLA and PHBV, combined with the inherent porosity of electrospun scaffolds, make the polymer blend well suited to electrospinning.…”