Facile modification of polycaprolactone nanofibers with egg white protein

Abstract

Synthetic polymers remain to be a major choice for scaffold fabrication due to their structural stability and mechanical strength. However, the lack of functional moieties limits their application for cell-based therapies which necessitate modification and functionalization. Blending synthetic polymers with natural components is a simple and effective way to achieve the desired biological properties for a scaffold. Herein, nanofibrous mats made of polycaprolactone (PCL) and egg white protein (EWP) blend were developed and further evaluated for use as a scaffold for tissue engineering applications. Homogeneous distribution of EWP was achieved throughout the nanofibrous mats, as shown by immunohistochemistry. ATR-FTIR analysis and contact angle measurements have further confirmed the presence of EWP on the surface of the samples. The swelling test showed that PCL/EWP nanofibers have higher water uptake than PCL nanofibrous mats. Also, EWP addition on the nanofibrous mats resulted in an increase in the tensile strength and Young’s modulus of the mats, indicating that the presence of protein can greatly enhance the mechanical properties of the mats. A significantly higher, more uniform, and dispersed cell spreading was observed on days 7 and 14 than that on neat PCL mats, demonstrating the importance of providing the required cues for cell homing by the availability of EWP. Hence, EWP is shown to be a simple and low-cost source for the functionalization of PCL nanofibrous mats. EWP is, therefore, a facile candidate to enhance cellular interactions of synthetic polymers for a wide range of tissue engineering applications.

Incorporation of Mycobacteriophage Fulbright into Polycaprolactone Electrospun Nanofiber Wound Dressing

“…The water uptake of PCL_Fulbright compared to PCL nanofiber structures is due to the hydrophilicity of phage Fulbright and morphological differences between the two samples. The higher water absorption of the PCL_Fulbright membrane observed compared to PCL agrees with previous research [ 42 , 43 ] where it is reported that the presence of protein and porosity might be mainly responsible for the difference between total water uptake values of PCL fiber mats.…”

Fabrication and Investigation of Electrospun Poly caprolactone /Gelatin/Egg white Nanofibers for Skin Tissue Engineering

“…While the results of cell growing on the PCL/Gel contains 10% EW, are signi cantly better than the scaffold contains 5% EW and this change is more noticeable after 7 days culturing. On the other hand, the results show that increasing the EW from 10 to 15% in PCL/Gel scaffold reduced the cell growth even less than PCL/Gel without EW [42,43].…”

Electro Fluid Dynamics: A Route to Design Polymers and Composites for Biomedical and Bio-Sustainable Applications

“…Natural materials are mainly utilized effectively to achieve the desired biological properties (biocompatibility and bioactivity) lacking in other synthetic polymers. However, they must be stabilized by cross-linking or other methods in order to yield a stable material that can maintain its integrity [ 70 , 71 ]. In this case, polymer blending can enable the combination of complementary properties of different synthetic and natural polymers or can be used as a one-step surface modification technique to alter the wettability of electrospun mats [ 72 ].…”