1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA;2. Center for Nanoscale Materials and Biointegration (CNMB), Department of Physics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA;3. Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA;4. Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA;5. Department of Physical Sciences, Alabama State University, Montgomery, AL 36101, USA
Abstract:
The ability to mimic the chemical, physical and mechanical properties of the natural extra‐cellular matrix is a key requirement for tissue engineering scaffolds to be successful. In this study, we successfully fabricated aligned nanofibrous multi‐component scaffolds for bone tissue engineering using electrospinning. The chemical features were mimicked by using the natural components of bone: collagen and nano‐hydroxyapatite along with poly(D ,L ‐lactide)‐co‐glycolide] as the major component. Anisotropic features were mimicked by aligning the nanofibers using a rotating mandrel collector. We evaluated the effect of incorporation of nano‐HA particles to the system. The morphology and mechanical properties revealed that,at low concentrations, nano‐HA acted as a reinforcement. However, at higher nano‐HA loadings, it was difficult to disrupt aggregations and, hence, a detrimental effect was observed on the overall scaffold properties. Thermal analysis showed that there were slight interactions between the individual components even though the polymers existed as a two‐phase system. Preliminary in vitro cell‐culture studies revealed that the scaffold supported cell adhesion and spreading. The cells assumed a highly aligned morphology along the direction of fiber orientation. Protein adsorption experiments revealed that the synergistic effect of increased surface area and the presence of nano‐HA in the polymer matrix enhanced total protein adsorption. Crosslinking with 1‐ethyl‐3‐(3‐dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide hydrochloride resulted in improved mechanical properties of the scaffolds and improved degradation stability, under physiological conditions.
