Background:One of the new methods of scaffold fabrication is a nano-micro hybrid structure in which the properties of the scaffold are improved by introducing nanometer and micrometer structures. This method could be suitable for scaffold designing if some features improve.Materials and Methods:In this study, electrospun nanofibers of 9% weight solution of poly (3-hydroxybutyrate) (P3HB) and a 15% weight of chitosan by trifluoroacetic acid were coated on both the surface of a silk knitted substrate in the optimum condition to improve the mechanical properties of scaffolds for cartilage tissue engineering application. These hybrid nano-micro fibrous scaffolds were characterized by structural and mechanical evaluation methods.Results:Scanning electron microscopy values and porosity analysis showed that average diameter of nanofibers was 584.94 nm in electrospinning part and general porosity was more than 80%. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy results indicated the presence of all elements without pollution. The tensile test also stated that by electrospinning, as well as adding chitosan, both maximum strength and maximum elongation increased to 187 N and 10 mm. It means that the microfibrous part of scaffold could affect mechanical properties of nano part of the hybrid scaffold, significantly.Conclusions:It could be concluded that P3HB-chitosan/silk hybrid scaffolds can be a good candidate for cartilage tissue engineering.

Background:Reconstruction of nervous system is a great challenge in the therapeutic medical field. Nerve tissue engineering is a novel method to regenerate nervous system in human health care. Tissue engineering has introduced novel approaches to promote and guide peripheral nerve regeneration using submicron and nanoscale fibrous scaffolds.Materials and Methods:In this study, 9 wt% poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) solutions with two different ratios of chitosan (CTS) (15%, and 20%) were mixed in trifluoroacetic acid as a cosolvent. Thereafter, random and aligned PHB/CTS scaffolds were fabricated by electrospinning method in an appropriate condition.Results:Average diameters for aligned PHB, PHB/CTS 85:15 and PHB/CTS 80:20 were obtained as 675 nm, 740.3 nm, and 870.74 nm, which was lesser than random fibers. The solution components entity authenticity was approved by Fourier transform infrared. The addition of CTS decreased both water droplet contact angle from 124.79° to 43.14° in random and 110.87° to 33.49° in aligned PHB/CTS fibrous scaffold. Moreover, alignment of fibers causes tremendous increase in hydrophilicity of fibrous PHB/CTS substrate. Tensile strength increased from 6.41 MPa for random to 8.73 MPa for aligned PHB/CTS 85:15.Conclusions:Our results indicated that aligned PHB/CTS 85:15 nanofibers are the desired scaffold than the random PHB/CTS nanofibers for application in nerve tissue regeneration.

The aim of this work is to explore a new method for producing spun yarn on a modified ring spinning system which is called “clusterspun yarn”. Here, we describe the effects of the clustering of polyester multifilaments on the internal structure and properties of a composite yarn. Cotton fibers and polyester multifilaments were spun into 19 Ne cluster and core-spun yarns at five different twist levels. These yarns were then tested to compare their properties, including tenacity, elongation, and evenness. Surface morphology and structural variations of cluster and core-spun yarns were studied by scanning electron microscopy. Microtome and image-processing methods have been used to study the structure and packing of fibers in the cross-section of yarns. The results show that the special structure of a cluster-spun yarn results in pronounced enhancement in the structural mechanics and yarn properties. The statistical analysis results indicate that the tenacity and breaking elongation of cluster-spun yarn is significantly more than that in core-spun yarn. The results show that the twist factor at about 3.9(α e) gives the optimum properties. In addition, lower twist is needed to produce quality yarn in cluster-spun yarns as compared with normal core-spun yarns.

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