• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.185-190
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• 2010

Recently, an electrospinning process, which is one of various nanotechnologies, has been used in fabricating micro/nanosized fibers. The fabricated electrospun micro/nanofibers has been widely applied in biomedical applications, specially in tissue regeneration. In this study, we fabricated highly aligned electrospun biodegradable and biocompatible poly(${\varepsilon}$-caprolactone)(PCL) micro/nanofibers by using a modified electrospinning process supplemented with a complex electric field. From this process, we can attain highly aligned electrospun nanofibers compared to that fabricated with the normal electrospinning process. To observe the feasibility of the highly aligned electrospun mat as a biomedical scaffold, nerve cells(PC-12) was cultured and it was found that the cells those were well oriented to the direction of aligned fibers.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.365-370
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• 2011

Electrospun nanofibers prepared with synthetic biodegradable polymer have some limitations in regulating adhesion, proliferation, and spreading of cells because of their surface hydrophobicity and absence of cell-interaction. In this study, we functionalized the electrospun poly(L-lactide-co-${\varepsilon}$-caprolactone) (PLCL) nanofibers with acrylic acid (AAc) to modulate their surface hydrophilicity using electron-beam irradiation method and then measured grafting ratio of AAc, water contact angle, and ATR-FTIR of AAc-grafted nanofibers. A grafting ratio of AAc on the nanofibers was increased as irradiation dose and AAc concentration were increased. AAc-grafted nanofibers also have higher wettability than non-modified nanofibers. In conclusion, those surface-modified nanofibers may be an essential candidate to regulate cell attachment in tissue engineering applications.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.124-130
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• 2012

The uniform nanofibers of poly(L-lactide-$co$-${\varepsilon}$-caprolactone) (PLCL) with different contents of marine collagen (MC) were successfully prepared by electrospinning method. The effects of the major parameters in electrospinning process such as tip to target distance (TTD), voltage, nozzle size and flow rate on the average diameter of the electrospun nanofiber were investigated in generating composite nanofiber. The diameter and morphology of the nanofibers were confirmed by a scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Also, we measured a water contact angle to determine the surface wettability of the nanofibers. The average diameter of the nanofibers decreased as the value of TTD, MC contents, and voltages increased in comparison with that of pristine PLCL nanofiber. In contrast, the diameter of the nanofibers increased as the flow rate and inner diameter of nozzle increased in comparison with that of pristine PLCL. In addition, the hydrophilicity of the nanofiber and attachment of MG-63 cells on the sheets increased as incorporated collagen contents increased. Therefore, the marine collagen would be a potential material to enhance cellular interactivity of synthetic materials by mimicking the natural tissue.

• Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.735-750
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• 2018

BACKGROUND: The major challenge of tissue engineering is to develop constructions with suitable properties which would mimic the natural extracellular matrix to induce the proliferation and differentiation of cells. Poly(${\varepsilon}$-caprolactone)-poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(${\varepsilon}$-caprolactone) (PCL-PEG-PCL, PCEC), chitosan (CS), nano-silica ($n-SiO_2$) and nano-hydroxyapatite (n-HA) are biomaterials successfully applied for the preparation of 3D structures appropriate for tissue engineering. METHODS: We evaluated the effect of n-HA and $n-SiO_2$ incorporated PCEC-CS nanofibers on physical properties and osteogenic differentiation of human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, thermogravimetric analysis, contact angle and mechanical test were applied to evaluate the physicochemical properties of nanofibers. Cell adhesion and proliferation of hDPSCs and their osteoblastic differentiation on nanofibers were assessed using MTT assay, DAPI staining, alizarin red S staining, and QRT-PCR assay. RESULTS: All the samples demonstrated bead-less morphologies with an average diameter in the range of 190-260 nm. The mechanical test studies showed that scaffolds incorporated with n-HA had a higher tensile strength than ones incorporated with $n-SiO_2$. While the hydrophilicity of $n-SiO_2$ incorporated PCEC-CS nanofibers was higher than that of samples enriched with n-HA. Cell adhesion and proliferation studies showed that n-HA incorporated nanofibers were slightly superior to $n-SiO_2$ incorporated ones. Alizarin red S staining and QRT-PCR analysis confirmed the osteogenic differentiation of hDPSCs on PCEC-CS nanofibers incorporated with n-HA and $n-SiO_2$. CONCLUSION: Compared to other groups, PCEC-CS nanofibers incorporated with 15 wt% n-HA were able to support more cell adhesion and differentiation, thus are better candidates for bone tissue engineering applications.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.139-148
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• 2008

Biodegradable and elastic poly(L-lactide-co-$\varepsilon$-caprolactone) (PLCL) was electrospun to prepare nanofibers, and N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm) was then grafted onto their surfaces under aqueous conditions using $^{60}Co-{\gamma}$ irradiation. The graft yield increased with increasing irradiation dose from 5 to 10 kGy and the nanofibers showed a greater graft yield compared with the firms. SEM confirmed that the PLCL nanofibers maintained an interconnected pore structure after grafting with NIPAAm. However, overdoses of irradiation led to the excessive formation of homopolymer gels on the surface of thc PLCL nanofibers. The equilibrium swelling and deswelling ratio of the PNIPAAm-g-PLCL nanofibers (prepared with 10 kGy) was the highest among the samples, which was consistent with the graft yield results. The phase-separation characteristics of PNIPAAm in aqueous conditions conferred a unique temperature-responsive swelling behavior of PNIPAAm-g-PLCL nanofibers, showing the ability to absorb a large amount of water at < $32^{\circ}C$, and abrupt collapse when the temperature was increased to $40^{\circ}C$. In accordance with the temperature-dependent changes in swelling behavior, the release rate of indomethacin and FITC-BSA loaded in PNIPAAm-g-PLCL nanofibers by a diffusion-mediated process was regulated by the change in temperature. Both model drugs demonstrated greater release rate at $40^{\circ}C$ relative to that at $25^{\circ}C$. This approach of the temperature-controlled release of drugs from PNIPAAm-g-PLCL nanofibers using gamma-ray irradiation may be used to design drugs and protein delivery carriers in various biomedical applications.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.458-464
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• 2008

A successful scaffold should have a highly porous structure and good mechanical stability. High porosity and appropriate pore size provide structural matrix for initial cell attachment and proliferation enabling the exchange of nutrients between the scaffold and environment. In this paper the highly porous scaffold of poly(${\varepsilon}$-caprolactone) electrospun nanofibers could be manufactured with an auxiliary electrode and chemical blowing agent (BA) under several processing conditions, such as the concentration of PCL solution, weight percent of a chemical blowing agent, and decomposition time of a chemical blowing agent. To attain stable electrospinnability and blown nanofiber mats having high microporosity and large pore, a processing condition, 8wt% of PCL solution and 0.5wt% of a chemical blowing agent under $100^{\circ}C$ and decomposition time of $2{\sim}3\;s$, was used. The growth characteristic of human dermal fibroblasts cells cultured in the mats showed the good adhesion and proliferation on the blown mat compared to a normal electrospun mat.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.323-328
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• 2015

Poly(${\varepsilon}$-caprolactone) (PCL) nanofibers and PCL/silica membranes were synthesized by sol-gel derived electrospinning and casting, respectively. Smooth PCL nanofibers were obtained from the precursor containing N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF). PCL/silica membranes were prepared by varying the tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) contents from 0 to 40 vol% to investigate the effect of silica addition on mechanical properties and cytotoxicity of the membranes. Although the strength of the membranes decreased from 12 to 8 MPa with increasing the silica content, the strength remained almost constant 7 weeks after dipping in phosphate buffered saline solution (PBS). The strength reduction was attributed to the presence of a patterned surface pores and micro-pores present in the walls between pores. The crystal structure of the membranes was orthorhombic and the crystallite size decreased from 57 to 18 nm with increasing the silica content. From the agar overlay test, the PCL/silica membranes exhibited neither deformation and discoloration nor lysis of L-929 fibroblast cells.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.171-180
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• 2015

Vascular tissue engineering has been accessed to mimic the natural composition of the blood vessel containing intima, media, and adventitia layers. We fabricated mechanically expanded PLLA/PLCL nanofibers using electrospinning and UTM. The pore size of the meshes was increased the gelatin immobilized AAc-PLLA/PLCL nanofibers ($203.30{\pm}49.62microns$) than PLLA/PLCL nanofibers ($59.99{\pm}8.66microns$) after mechanical expansion. To increase the cell adhesion and proliferation, we introduced carboxyl group, and gelatin was conjugated on them. The properties of the PLLA/PLCL nanofibers were analyzed with SEM, ATR-FTIR, TBO staining, and water contact angle measurement, general cell responses on the PLLA/PLCL nanofibers such as adhesion, proliferation, and infiltration were also investigated using smooth muscle cell (SMC). During the SMC culture, the initial viability of the cells was significantly increased on the gelatin immobilized AAc-PLLA/PLCL nanofibers, and infiltration of the cells was also enhanced on them. Therefore, gelatin immobilized AAc-PLLA/PLCL nanofibers and mechanically expanded meshes may be a good tool for vascular tissue engineering application.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.50 no.10
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• pp.763-768
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• 2012

The uniform and highly smooth nanofibers of biocompatible poly(${\varepsilon}$-caprolactone) (PCL) composited with different contents of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were successfully prepared by electrospinning. Experimental parameters were MWCNTs addition to a PCL solution and applied voltages. The topographical features of the composite nanofibers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and its electrical properties were measured by a four-point probe method. The surface resistance gradually decreased with an increasing content of MWCNTs in PCL fibers because of the excellent electrical conductivity of MWCNTs. The nanofiber diameter could be regulated by varying the solution viscosity and voltages. Our results establish that this kind of electrospinning PCL/MWCNTs nanofibers with the control of fiber diameter and electrical conductivity may be a promising candidate for the application of scaffolds in tissue engineering.