Preparation of electrospun nanofibrous polycaprolactone scaffolds using nontoxic ethylene carbonate and glacial acetic acid solvent system

Abstract

In recent years, solution electrospinning has attracted the interest of researchers due to the possibility to design nanofibrous scaffolds with large surface area to volume ratios. Polycaprolactone (PCL), because of its biocompatibility and easy processability, has been widely used to develop electrospun structures for tissue engineering. However, the use of organic solvents and the poor PCL solution stability still hinder the development of the solution electrospinning process. The relatively benign glacial acetic acid (GAC) as a solvent of PCL was used to fabricate microfibrous fibers or beaded fibers. Thus, ethylene carbonate (EC) as a nontoxic assistant solvent was added to the PCL/GAC solution to successfully fabricate electrospun nanofibrous PCL scaffolds. The stability of the PCL/GAC/EC solution system was demonstrated as the viscosity, which showed no significant change during 48 h. The ultrafine PCL fiber diameter decreased as EC concentration was increased from 0 to 9 vol% and started to slightly increase when EC concentration increased beyond 9 vol%. MTT assay evidenced that MC3T3‐E1 cells on the nanofibrous PCL scaffolds exhibited a better enhancement on cell proliferation. In summary, EC was added in PCL/GAC to establish a stable and low toxic solution electrospinning system, which provides promising strategy in tissue engineering field. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020, 137, 48387.

Covalently Bonded N-Acetylcysteine-polyester Loaded in PCL Scaffolds for Enhanced Interactions with Fibroblasts

“…PCL has a much higher molecular weight (Mn = 80 000 Da) than PGlCL (Mn = 16 000 Da) and PGlCL-NAC. This means that the partial substitution of PCL by PGlCL or PGlCL-NAC caused a decrease in the viscosity of the solution, which allowed the production of fibers with reduced diameters. , …”

“…This means that the partial substitution of PCL by PGlCL or PGlCL-NAC caused a decrease in the viscosity of the solution, which allowed the production of fibers with reduced diameters. 31,38 PCL+PGlCL-NAC and PCL+PGlCL presented a narrow fiber size distribution when compared to the PCL. The size range of PCL+PGlCL and PCL+PGlCL-NAC fibers was between 40−220 nm, whereas for PCL the fiber sizes ranged from 200 to 1600 nm as observed in Figure 3.…”

“…After a series of solubilization tests using different solvents and different concentrations, the electrospun scaffolds were produced using PCL (18% w/v), PCL+PGlCL (18% w/v, PCL:PGlCL = 6:12 w/w) and PCL+PGlCL-NAC (18% w/v, PCL:PGlCL-NAC = 6:12 w/w) dissolved in a solvent mixture of chloroform: DMF (9:1 v:v). 31 The solutions were kept under continuous stirring for 24 h at 25 ± 2 °C before electrospinning. Pure PCL and PCL blends with PGlCL and PGlCL-NAC were completely solubilized, yielding solutions and with homogeneous character.…”

Electrospun Nisin-Loaded Poly(ε-caprolactone)-Based Active Food Packaging

“…The solution systems were ultrasonicated for 20 min just before measuring the viscosity and then before electrospinning to ensure the homogenous distribution of nisin in the solution. The rheological measurements of plain PCL, as well as solutions of PCL with different concentrations of nisin (2,6,12,25, and 50% m/m), were performed using a Rheometer AR2000 (TA Instruments, New Castle, DE, USA) at 25 • C in rotation mode using a DIN rotor Peltier cylinder system.…”

“…The drops of polymer solution are squeezed from a syringe, and high electrostatic forces overcome the cohesive forces, which results in the formation of a jet, its continuous elongation in an area of whipping instability, the evaporation of the solvent, and the formation of fibers with diameters in the range from a few nanometers to tens of micrometers [24]. Polycaprolactone is often processed by electrospinning due to the potential to obtain a large specific surface area with a small fiber diameter [25].…”