Microscale electrohydrodynamic printing of biomimetic PCL/nHA composite scaffolds for bone tissue engineering

Abstract

Electrohydrodynamic printing provides an innovative strategy to fabricate high-resolution tissue-engineering scaffolds with fiber orientation and scale similar to native extracellular matrix. However, few studies have been conducted to incorporate functional nanobiomaterials into microscale fibrous structures. In this study, we presented to fabricate microscale poly (ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (nHA) composite scaffolds with the average fiber diameter of 8.85±1.12µm based on electrohydrodynamic 3D printing to better mimic collagen fibers and HA nanocrystals in natural bones. The composite scaffolds exhibited good biocompatibility and facilitated cell alignment and proliferation in vitro. This strategy might be useful to regulate cellular microenvironment in multiscale and multimaterial levels for improved tissue regeneration.