Abstract
Critical size bone defects that do not heal spontaneously are among the major reasons for the disability in majority of people with locomotor disabilities. Tissue engineering has become a promising approach for repairing such large tissue injuries including critical size bone defects. Three-dimension (3D) porous scaffolds based on piezoelectric polymers like poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE)) have received a lot of attention in bone tissue engineering due to their favorable osteogenic properties. Owing to the favourable redox properties, titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanostructures have gained a great deal of attention in bone tissue engineering. In this paper, tissue engineering scaffolds based on P(VDF-TrFE) loaded with TiO2 nanowires (TNW) were developed and evaluated for bone tissue engineering. Wet-chemical method was used for the synthesis of TNW. Obtained TNW were thoroughly characterized for the physicochemical and morphological properties using techniques such as X-Ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Electrospinning was used to produce TNW incorporated P(VDF-TrFE) scaffolds. Developed scaffolds were characterized by state of art techniques such as Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), XRD and Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analyses. TEM analysis revealed that the obtained TiO2 nanostructures possess nanofibrous morphology with an average diameter of 26 ± 4 nm. Results of characterization of nanocomposite scaffolds confirmed the effective loading of TNW in P(VDF-TrFE) matrix. Fabricated P(VDF-TrFE)/TNW scaffolds possessed good mechanical strength and cytocompatibility. Osteoblast like cells showed higher adhesion and proliferation on the nanocomposite scaffolds. This investigation revealed that the developed P(VDF-TrFE) scaffolds containing TNW can be used as potential scaffolds for bone tissue engineering applications.
Highlights
Accidental trauma, sports injuries, developmental deformities, tumor resection and infection can lead to significant loss of bone tissue which cannot be repaired naturally
P(VDF-TrFE) scaffolds loaded with TiO2 nanowires (TNW) were developed and characterized by various physical and biological tests to demonstrate their applicability in bone tissue engineering
From Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-Ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) analysis, it was established that the TNW were successfully incorporated in the P(VDF-TrFE) fibers
Summary
Accidental trauma, sports injuries, developmental deformities, tumor resection and infection can lead to significant loss of bone tissue which cannot be repaired naturally. The use of electrospun polymeric biomaterials for bone tissue engineering applications attained considerable importance owing to their ability to act as porous 3D supports for cell adhesion and proliferation [5, 6]. Poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-trifluoroethylene) copolymer [P(VDFTrFE)] has huge potential as scaffold for tissue engineering applications due to its piezoelectric property and biocompatibility [7]. In piezoelectric materials such P(VDFTrFE), even small vibration or mechanical stretching during the muscular movement can produce transient surface charges which can help in cell adhesion and proliferation. We describe the design and development of highly porous electrospun piezoelectric tissue engineering scaffolds based on P(VDF-TrFE) and TNW with superior ability to support fibroblast and osteoblast like cell proliferation
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