Nanodiamond-polycaprolactone composite: A new material for tissue engineering with sub-dermal imaging capabilities

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For tissue scaffolding, it is desirable for the scaffold to promote growth of the native tissue, before the scaffold is ultimately replaced by tissue. While polycaprolactone (PCL) is a superb scaffold material, it is impossible to non-invasively monitor its degradation. Here, incorporating fluorescent nanodiamonds into PCL, we show sub-dermal fluorescence imaging of PCL. This provides an opportunity to monitor PCL degradation to assess real-time tissue uptake and replacement. Furthermore, nanodiamonds increase the hydrophillicity PCL, and hence may increase tissue uptake rates, opening new applications for PCL.