Optimization of blend parameters for the fabrication of polycaprolactone‐silicon based ormoglass nanofibers by electrospinning

Abstract

Electrospinning is a method that can be used to efficiently produce scaffolds that mimic the fibrous structure of natural tissue, such as muscle structures or the extracellular matrix of bone. The technique is often used as a way of depositing composites (organic/inorganic materials) to obtain bioactive nanofibers which have the requisite mechanical properties for use in tissue engineering. However, many factors can influence the formation and collection of fibers, including experimental variables such as the parameters of the solution of the electrospun slurry. In this study, we assessed the influence of the polymer concentration, glass content and glass hydrolysis level on the morphology and thickness of fibers produced by electrospinning for a PCL-(Si-Ca-P2 ) bioactive ormoglass-organically modified glass-blend. Based on previous assays, this combination of materials shows good angiogenic and osteogenic properties, which gives it great potential for use in tissue engineering. The results of our study showed that blend preparation directly affected the features of the resulting fibers, and when the parameters of the blend are precisely controlled, fibers with a regular diameter could be produced fairly easily when 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol was used as a solvent instead of tetrahydrofuran. The diameter of the homogeneous fibers ranged from 360 to 620 nm depending on the experimental conditions used. This demonstrates that experimental optimization of the electrospinning process is crucial in order to obtain a deposit of hybrid nanofibers with a regular shape.

A novel hybrid nanofibrous strategy to target progenitor cells for cost-effective in situ angiogenesis

“…Other studies also revealed the importance of developing materials with specific features (composition, for example) and validated the use of Si-Ca-P 2 ORMOGLASSES (organically modified glasses) to prepare hybrid materials. [14][15][16][17] However, the fabrication of hybrids involving other systems (i.e. other constituents) is required in order to demonstrate the usefulness of ORMOGLASSES for tissue engineering, particularly for bone regeneration.…”

Odontogenic differentiation of inflamed dental pulp stem cells (IDPSCs) on polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofiber blended with hydroxyapatite

“…The concentration and parameters used for the electrospinning of the polymer blend composite were based on literature [20][21][22]25,26) and finalized through trial runs. Since HA ceramic particles were added to the polymer blend, the voltage used is also higher for the composite than that is used for the polymer blend.…”

A microphysiological system combining electrospun fibers and electrical stimulation for the maturation of highly anisotropic cardiac tissue

“…It is a single-step procedure performed with commonly used equipment (such as pumps, or a high voltage source) while previously used techniques are multistep and require expensive microfabricated molds generally obtained through photolithography. It also offers high versatility, as it is possible to easily customize many different fabrication parameters such as fiber orientation, thickness, length, positioning density or type of polymer material (natural, synthetic or blended) [21,23,48]. In our case, we chose PLA 70/30 due to its excellent biocompatibility and cell adhesion properties observed in previous works from our group [42,49].…”