The use of dielectric property measurements to define specific trends in the molecular structures of poly(caprolactone) containing star polymers and/or the interbatch repeatability of the synthetic procedures used to generate them is demonstrated. The magnitude of the dielectric property value is shown to accurately reflect: (a) the number of functional groups within a series of materials with similar molecular size when no additional intermolecular order is present in the medium, (b) the polymer molecular size for a series of materials containing a fixed core material and so functional group number, and/or (c) the batch to batch repeatability of the synthesis method. The dielectric measurements are validated by comparison to spectroscopic/chromatographic data.
Electrospinning is a simple and efficient process in producing nanofibers. To fabricate nanofibers made of a blend of two constituent materials, co-axial electrospinning method is an option. In this method, the constituent materials contained in separate barrels are simultaneously injected using two syringe nozzles arranged co-axially and the materials mix during the spraying process forming core and shell of the nanofibers. In this study, co-axial electrospinning method is used to fabricate nanofibers made of polyvinyl alcohol and maghemite (γ-Fe2O3). The concentration of polyvinyl alcohol and amount of maghemite nanoparticle loading were varied, at 5 and 10 w/v% and at 1-10 v/v%, respectively. The mechanical properties (strength and Young's modulus), porosity, and biocompatibility properties (contact angle and cell viability) of the electrospun mats were evaluated, with the same mats fabricated by regular single-nozzle electrospinning method as the control. The co-axial electrospinning method is able to fabricate the expected polyvinyl alcohol/maghemite nanofiber mats. It was noticed that the polyvinyl alcohol/maghemite electrospun mats have lower mechanical properties (i.e. strength and stiffness) and porosity, more hydrophilicity (i.e. lower contact angle), and similar cell viability compared to the mats fabricated by single-nozzle electrospinning method.
The use of electrospinning process in fabricating tissue engineering scaffolds has received great attention in recent years due to its simplicity. The nanofibers produced via electrospinning possessed morphological characteristics similar to extracellular matrix of most tissue components. Porosity plays a vital role in developing tissue engineering scaffolds because it influences the biocompatibility performance of the scaffolds. In this study, maghemite (γ-Fe2O3) was mixed with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and subsequently electrospun to produce nanofibers. Five factors; nanoparticles content, voltage, flow rate, spinning distance, and rotating speed were varied to produce the electrospun nanofibrous mats with high porosity value. Empirical model was developed using response surface methodology to analyze the effect of these factors to the porosity. The results revealed that the optimum porosity (90.85%) was obtained using 5% w/v nanoparticle content, 35kV of voltage, 1.1ml/h volume flow rate of solution, 8cm spinning distance and 2455rpm of rotating speed. The empirical model was verified successfully by performing confirmation experiments. The properties of optimum PVA/γ-Fe2O3 nanofiber mats such as fiber diameter, mechanical properties, and contact angle were investigated. In addition, cytocompatibility test, in vitro degradation rate, and MTT assay were also performed. Results revealed that high porosity biodegradable γ-Fe2O3/polyvinyl alcohol nanofiber mats have low mechanical properties but good degradation rates and cytocompatibility properties. Thus, they are suitable for low load bearing biomedical application or soft tissue engineering scaffold.
Natural biopolymers have many attractive medical applications; however, complications due to fibrosis caused a reduction in diffusion and dispersal of nutrients and waste products. Consequently, severe immunocompatibility problems and poor mechanical and degradation properties in synthetic polymers ensue. Hence, the present study investigates a novel hydrogel material synthesized from caprolactone, ethylene glycol, ethylenediamine, polyethylene glycol, ammonium persulfate, and tetramethylethylenediamine via chemo-enzymatic route. Spectroscopic analyses indicated the formation of polyurea and polyhydroxyurethane as the primary building block of the hydrogel starting material. Biocompatibility studies showed positive observation in biosafety test using direct contact cytotoxicity assay in addition to active cellular growth on the hydrogel scaffold based on fluorescence observation. The synthesized hydrogel also exhibited (self)fluorescence properties under specific wavelength excitation. Hence, synthesized hydrogel could be a potential candidate for medical imaging as well as tissue engineering applications as a tissue expander, coating material, biosensor, and drug delivery system.