title: Electrospun poly (ɛ-caprolactone)/silk fibroin core-sheath nanofibers and their potential applications in tissue engineering and drug release.
abstract: One of the key tenets of tissue engineering is to develop scaffold materials with favorable biodegradability, surface properties, outstanding mechanical strength and controlled drug release property. In this study, we generated core-sheath nanofibers composed of poly (ɛ-caprolactone) (PCL) and silk fibroin (SF) blends via emulsion electrospinning. Nanofibrous scaffolds were characterized by combined techniques of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), contact angle and tensile measurements. An in vitro FITC release study was conducted to evaluate sustained release potential of the core-sheath structured nanofibers. We found that the conformation of SF contained in PCL/SF composite nanofibers was transformed from random coil to β-sheet when treated with methanol, leading to improved crystallinity and tensile strength of nanofibrous scaffolds. The hydrophobicity and diameter of nanofibers decreased when we increased the content of SF in PCL/SF composite nanofibers. Furthermore, we evaluated the potential of fabricated PCL/SF composite nanofibers as scaffold in vitro. The results confirmed that fabricated PCL/SF scaffolds improved cell attachment and proliferation. Our results demonstrated the feasibility to generate core-sheath nanofibers composed of PCL and SF using a single-nozzle technique. The produced nanofibrous scaffolds with sustained drug release have potential application in tissue engineering.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Linhao
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Haibin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Yuna
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.forename: Xian
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Gurinder K
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.forename: Wanqian
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Yonggang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.forename: Kaiyong
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D012831:Bombyx; D002208:Caproates / Q000737:chemistry*; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D004655:Emulsions; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology; D005349:Fibroins / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D007783:Lactones / Q000737:chemistry*; D057139:Nanofibers / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D047011:Silk / Q000737:chemistry*; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D013816:Thermodynamics; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D002208:Caproates; D004655:Emulsions; D007783:Lactones; D047011:Silk; C121056:caprolactone; D005349:Fibroins