Abstract
The fabrication of nanofibers by electrospinning has gained popularity in the past two decades; however, only in this decade, have polymeric nanofibers been functionalized using cyclodextrins (CDs) or their inclusion complexes (ICs). By combining electrospinning of polymers with free CDs, nanofibers can be fabricated that are capable of capturing small molecules, such as wound odors or environmental toxins in water and air. Likewise, combining polymers with cyclodextrin-inclusion complexes (CD-ICs), has shown promise in enhancing or controlling the delivery of small molecule guests, by minor tweaking in the technique utilized in fabricating these nanofibers, for example, by forming core–shell or multilayered structures and conventional electrospinning, for controlled and rapid delivery, respectively. In addition to small molecule delivery, the thermomechanical properties of the polymers can be significantly improved, as our group has shown recently, by adding non-stoichiometric inclusion complexes to the polymeric nanofibers. We recently reported and thoroughly characterized the fabrication of polypseudorotaxane (PpR) nanofibers without a polymeric carrier. These PpR nanofibers show unusual rheological and thermomechanical properties, even when the coverage of those polymer chains is relatively sparse (~3%). A key advantage of these PpR nanofibers is the presence of relatively stable hydroxyl groups on the outer surface of the nanofibers, which can subsequently be taken advantage of for bioconjugation, making them suitable for biomedical applications. Although the number of studies in this area is limited, initial results suggest significant potential for bone tissue engineering, and with additional bioconjugation in other areas of tissue engineering. In addition, the behaviors and uses of aliphatic polyester nanofibers functionalized with CDs and CD-ICs are briefly described and summarized. Based on these observations, we attempt to draw conclusions for each of these combinations, and the relationships that exist between their presence and the functional behaviors of their nanofibers.
Highlights
IntroductionElectrospinning is a widely utilized technique to fabricate nanofibers with intricate architectures, making this process highly suitable for tissue engineering and environmental, energy, sensor, textile, Polymers 2018, 10, 428; doi:10.3390/polym10040428 www.mdpi.com/journal/polymers
Electrospinning is a widely utilized technique to fabricate nanofibers with intricate architectures, making this process highly suitable for tissue engineering and environmental, energy, sensor, textile, Polymers 2018, 10, 428; doi:10.3390/polym10040428 www.mdpi.com/journal/polymersPolymers 2018, 10, 428 food packaging, and agricultural applications [1,2,3]
We summarize the various aliphatic polyester-based nanofibers, in particular those of biomedically relevant polymers, such as poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and poly (PLA), whose properties have been modified by either CDs or CD-inclusion complexes (CD-ICs), and that have been reported in the past decade
Summary
Electrospinning is a widely utilized technique to fabricate nanofibers with intricate architectures, making this process highly suitable for tissue engineering and environmental, energy, sensor, textile, Polymers 2018, 10, 428; doi:10.3390/polym10040428 www.mdpi.com/journal/polymers. Reasons for the widespread use of nanofibers include their large surface to volume ratio with high porosities, and very low weight, compared to bulk fibrous materials [4,5] In addition to their nano-scale dimensions, electrospun nanofibers are of special interest in biomedical applications, as they imitate the native extracellular matrix of physiologic tissues [4,6]. CDs, such as random methyl, hydroxypropyl, peracetyl, sulfobutylether, and monochlorotriazinyl CDs, with improved water solubility compared to native CDs [11,13] Both native as well as modified CDs have hydrophilic outer surfaces, in addition to hydrophobic cavities, facilitating secondary interactions with the included guest molecules [11]. As those studies are far fewer, they are not addressed in this manuscript
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