Preparation and Characterization of Novel Bone Scaffolds Based on Electrospun Polycaprolactone Fibers Filled with Nanoparticles

Abstract

Novel bone-scaffolding materials were successfully fabricated by electrospinning from polycaprolactone (PCL) solutions containing nanoparticles of calcium carbonate (CaCO(3)) or hydroxyapatite (HA). The diameters of the as-spun fibers were found to increase with the addition and increasing amounts of the nanoparticles. The observed increase in the diameters of the as-spun fibers with the addition and increasing amounts of the nanoparticulate fillers was responsible for the observed increase in the tensile strength of the obtained fiber mats. An increase in the concentration of the base PCL solution caused the average diameter of the as-spun PCL/HA composite fibers to increase. Increasing applied electrical potential also resulted in an increase in the diameters of the obtained PCL/HA composite fibers. Lastly, indirect cytotoxicity evaluation of the electrospun mats of PCL, PCL/CaCO(3), and PCL/HA fibers based on human osteoblasts (SaOS2) and mouse fibroblasts (L929) revealed that these as-spun mats posed no threat to the cells, a result that implied their potential for utilization as bone-scaffolding materials.

Processing of polycaprolactone and hydroxyapatite to fabricate graded electrospun composites for tendon-bone interface regeneration

“…The mean fiber diameters of the PCLrich and nHA-rich side of the meshes were calculated as 361±9 nm and 459±21 nm, respectively. A similar effect of nanoparticle inclusion on fiber diameter was also reported by other investigators [5,21]. The reason for increased fiber diameter could be partly explained by the presence of agglomerates of nHA.…”

Electrospun nanofibrous materials for tissue engineering and drug delivery

“…The electrospun fibrous composites could be fabricated through blending polymer with nanoparticles or immobilization technologies to functionalize the electrospun nanofibers. For example, Wutticharoenmongkol et al [45] prepared electrospun PCL/hydroxyapatite (HA) and PCL/CaCO 3 composites using PCL solution containing nanoparticles of HA or calcium carbonate. Chang et al fabricated BG nanofibers by sol-gel electrospinning technology.…”

“…In vitro release study indicated that threads made from the core-shell fibers could suppress the initial burst release and provide a sustained drug release useful for administering growth factor or other therapeutic drugs. Yang et al obtained core-shell structured ultrafine fibers of BSA/PDLLA through emulsion electrospinning [45]. They found that emulsion electrospinning can provide a useful core-shell structure, which may serve as a promising scaffold for sustainable, controllable, and effective release of bioactive proteins for tissue engineering and other applications.…”

Characterization, drug loading and antibacterial activity of nanohydroxyapatite/polycaprolactone (nHA/PCL) electrospun membrane

“…Electrospinning of nHA/PCL using acetone solvent is not frequently reported and utilized. Common solvents that have been used to dissolve PCL for fabricating PCL nanofiber are dichloromethane/dimethyl formamide (Wutticharoenmongkol et al 2006), trifluoroethanol (Samavedi et al 2011), methanol/chloroform (Zhang et al 2007), methylene chloride/dimethyl formamide (Li et al 2012), and hexafluoroethanol (Jaiswal et al 2013). Some of these solvents are harmful and required attentive caution and safety precautions while preparing the solution for electrospinning.…”