Fabrication and Characterization of PCL/GE-Based Electrospun Nanofibers for Tissue Engineering and Drug Delivery Application

Abstract

Tissue engineering (TE) provides an alternative option to solve limitation of organ and tissue transplantation issues. Fabrication of scaffold is a major challenge because it needs to provide a suitable medium for cell growing and drug delivery which enhances cell transplantation efficiency. The porosity, biodegradability and biocompatibility are the important properties in fabricating a scaffold. Our previous work had found that electrospinning of Polycarprolactone (PCL)/ Gelatin (GE)-based nanofibers in 14% w/v polymer solution in 18kV showed the best results in morphology, average diameters, average pore size and hydrophilicity. Hence, in this project, we are interested to study the relationship between weight ratio of PCL and GE in the same concentration (14%) to the morphology, degradation rate and porosity of nanofibers. Experimental results showed that PCL with 1.2g and GE with 0.2g was able to produce better nanofibers. The sample was then further deployed in drug (tetracycline hydrochloride) loading and it was successfully loaded proven by Energy Dispersive X-Ray (EDX) Spectrum. These nanofibers are predicted to be potentially useful for drug delivery and TE application.