Graphene oxide-enriched poly(ε-caprolactone) electrospun nanocomposite scaffold for bone tissue engineering applications

Abstract

Tissue engineering aims at fabricating biological substitutes to improve, repair, and regenerate failing human tissues or organs. Designing a nanocomposite scaffolds with tailored properties that enhance the development of functional tissue can be an appropriate approach to achieve this purpose. In this study, the uniform and bead-free nanofibers of poly(ε-caprolactone) composited with different graphene oxide nanosheet contents (ranging from 0.5 to 2 wt%) were successfully fabricated through electrospinning process. A decrease in the average diameter of poly(ε-caprolactone) nanofibers was observed with the addition of graphene oxide nanosheets. Moreover, the nanocomposite scaffolds containing 2 wt% of graphene oxide nanosheets exhibited superior mechanical properties compared to that of pure poly(ε-caprolactone). Compared with pure poly(ε-caprolactone) scaffold, the degradation rate of poly(ε-caprolactone)-graphene oxide nanosheet nanofibers was enhanced, while the integrity of fibers was preserved. The presence of graphene oxide nanosheets in poly(ε-caprolactone) fibers promoted in vitro biomineralization, indicating bioactive features of the nanocomposite scaffolds. Compared to the pure one, nanocomposite fibers also showed better ability in protein adsorption. The in vitro cell culture studies showed that the addition of graphene oxide nanosheets did not diminish the biocompatibility of the electrospun poly(ε-caprolactone) nanofiber. Furthermore, the adhesion and proliferation of MG63 cells were increased. Altogether, the results demonstrated that electrospun poly(ε-caprolactone)-graphene oxide nanosheet nanofiber may be a suitable candidate for tissue engineering scaffold applications.

Graphene Family Materials in Bone Tissue Regeneration: Perspectives and Challenges

“…For example, the pure PCL scaffold had a tensile strength of 1.61 MPa, an elongation of 122%, and a Young’s modulus of 7.01 MPa. The addition of GO (2%) resulted in a considerable increase in tensile strength to 3.50 MPa, elongation to 131%, and Young’s modulus to 15.15 MPa [ 80 ].…”

Liver Tissue Engineering as an Emerging Alternative for Liver Disease Treatment

“…However, these methods had a significant role in the progress of the LTE field. 30,135 There are many methods used for TE approaches, including solvent-casting, [137][138][139][140] freeze-drying, 92,95,138,[141][142][143] electrospinning, [144][145][146][147] phase separation, 103,135 and gas foaming. 77 In this study, we represent some of these techniques that have been utilized in LTE.…”

Synergistic delivery of bFGF and BMP-2 from poly(l-lactic-co-glycolic acid)/graphene oxide/hydroxyapatite nanofibre scaffolds for bone tissue engineering applications

“…Because of the excellent properties, graphene and its derivatives have been intensively studied for biomedical applications, such as drug delivery carriers, imaging agents, cancer photothermal therapy agents and tissue engineering scaffolds components. [24][25][26][27] Previous studies had indicated that the mechanical properties and biocompatibility of polymers bone scaffolds doped with GO were signicantly better than those of pure scaffolds. 28,29 Additionally, GO is composed of hydrophobic p domains in the core region and ionized groups along the edges.…”