Enriched mechanical, thermal, and blood compatibility of single stage electrospun polyurethane nickel oxide nanocomposite for cardiac tissue engineering

Abstract

Electrospinning is a versatile technique for producing nanocomposite in biomedical applications. In this study, polyurethane (PU) cardiac patch loaded with nickel oxide (NiO) was fabricated using electrospinning technique. The morphology study revealed that the PU/NiO nanocomposites exhibited reduced fiber diameter (758 ± 157.10 nm) and pore diameter (868 ± 73.26 nm) compared to the pristine PU (fiber diameter 890 ± 116.91 nm and pore diameter 1064 ± 74.31 nm). The contact angle study indicated the decreased wettability behavior of the electrospun nanocomposite (106° ± 0.58°) than the pure PU (100° ± 0.58°). The incorporation of NiO into PU improved the mechanical strength (15.25 MPa) and surface roughness (448 nm) of the pristine PU (tensile strength 7.12 MPa and surface roughness 313 nm). The developed PU/NiO nanocomposites showed delayed blood clotting time and low hemolytic percentage as revealed in the coagulation studies insinuating the improved anticoagulant nature compared to the pristine PU. Moreover, 3‐(4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐5‐(3‐carboxymethoxyphenyl)‐2‐(4‐sulfophenyl)‐2H‐tetrazolium, inner salt (MTS) assay demonstrated the nontoxic behavior of fibroblast cells in the developed nanocomposite (135 ± 1%) than the pristine PU (133.33 ± 8.96%). The newly developed nanocomposite patch rendered better physicochemical, improved blood compatibility, and nontoxic to the fibroblast cells. Hence, the electrospun PU/NiO nanocomposite might serve as a plausible scaffold for the cardiac tissue engineering. POLYM. COMPOS., 40:2381–2390, 2019. © 2018 Society of Plastics Engineers