Fibro‐porous poliglecaprone/polycaprolactone conduits: synergistic effect of composition and in vitro degradation on mechanical properties

Abstract

Blends of poliglecaprone (PGC) and polycaprolactone (PCL) of varying compositions were electrospun into tubular conduits and their mechanical, morphological, thermal and in vitro degradation properties were evaluated under simulated physiological conditions. Generally, mechanical strength, modulus and hydrophilic nature were enhanced by the addition of PGC to PCL. An in vitro degradation study in phosphate-buffered saline (pH 7.3) was carried out for up to 1 month to understand the hydrolytic degradation effect on the mechanical properties in both the longitudinal and circumferential directions. Pure PCL and 4:1 PCL/PGC blend scaffolds exhibited considerable elastic stiffening after a 1 month in vitro degradation. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic and DSC techniques were used to understand the degradation behavior and the changes in structure and crystallinity of the polymeric blends. A 3:1 PCL/PGC blend was concluded to be a judicious blend composition for tubular grafts based on overall results on the mechanical properties and performance after a 1 month in vitro degradation study.

Biohybrid Fibro-Porous Vascular Scaffolds: Effect of Crosslinking on Properties

“…Electrospun tubular scaffolds were fabricated by initially spinning a sacrificial layer of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) onto a collector (a grounded cylindrical mandrel of 4 mm diameter rotating at 400 rpm) from a 10% (w/v) solution of PVA in water at a rate of 1 mL/h and an electric field strength of 1.5 kV/cm. The needle was driven along the length of the mandrel at a rate of 30 mm/s to guarantee that the polymer fibers would be deposited evenly [5]. After coating the mandrel with a thin layer of PVA, 2.5 mL of the PCL/PGC solution was spun onto it using the procedure described above.…”

“…Scaffolds for vascular tissue engineering must have the bioactivity necessary for cell adhesion/growth and mechanical properties matching those of native blood vessels to withstand the pressure exerted due to blood flow. To this end, electrospun tubular scaffolds were fabricated from biocompatible PCL and fast-degrading PGC blends [5, 6] and coated with a physiological protein matrix, HuBiogel™. In a recently published paper we have shown that the PGC/PCL composition affected both the degradation and mechanical properties of tubular scaffolds such that a 3:1 PCL/PGC blend exhibited miscibility and co-continuous phase with optimized mechanical properties for vascular graft [5].…”

“…To this end, electrospun tubular scaffolds were fabricated from biocompatible PCL and fast-degrading PGC blends [5, 6] and coated with a physiological protein matrix, HuBiogel™. In a recently published paper we have shown that the PGC/PCL composition affected both the degradation and mechanical properties of tubular scaffolds such that a 3:1 PCL/PGC blend exhibited miscibility and co-continuous phase with optimized mechanical properties for vascular graft [5]. HuBiogel (HB) is a native matrix of collagens, laminin, and proteoglycan, derived from human amnions [7].…”

The effect of different thermal treatment on the physical properties of PGA/PCL copolymer suture material

“…It is a copolymer consist of randomly segmented polyglycolic acid PGA and polycaprolactone PCL. It has better degradation time shorter and mechanical properties in comparison with PCL Bezwada et al () and Patela et al ().…”

“…PGC consist of hard segment that gives the sutures its strength Bernstein et al (). PCL segment increased viscoelasticity and extend degradation time of the polymer Patela et al (). PGA with PCL has a better hydrophilicity and mechanical properties suited for soft‐tissue engineering and biocompatibility Aghdam et al ().…”