Abstract
In this study, we investigated PLGA/graphene composite scaffold prepared by electrospinning method for its possible application in biomedical fields. Mixture of 16 wt% PLGA and 0.1~1.0 wt% well-dispersed graphene dissolved in 1,2-dichloroethane co-solvent was used as a dope solution for fabricating a mat type of electrospun PLGA/graphene composite scaffold. The morphological structure of the composite scaffold was examined by FE-SEM, indicating that monolayered graphene was well hybridized inside the PLGA microfiber (ca. 900~1000 nm fiber size). Indirect evidence of graphene inclusion in the composite scaffold was confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis and thermal gravimetric analysis quantitatively. As a result of tensile test, the PLGA/graphene composite scaffold had an excellent tensile strength (2~2.5 times higher), breaking strain (2.5~3.5 times higher) and Young's modulus (1.2~2.4 times higher) compared to electrospun PLGA scaffold. Cytotoxicity and cell proliferation of the composite scaffold were also performed by MTT assay using MC3T3-E1 and NIH3T3 cell, showing that graphene-containing PLGA scaffold has no cytotoxicity and even much better cell adhesion and proliferation ability. Therefore, it is concluded that the electrospun PLGA/graphene composite scaffold can be potentially used in biomedical applications for tissue engineering, due to excellent mechanical properties as well as high cell compatibility.
