Forming fibrous nanocomposite tissue engineering scaffolds through electrospinning: a comparative study of three fabrication routes

Abstract

Due to osteoconductivity of hydroxyapatite (HA), HA/polymer composite scaffolds have been investigated for bone tissue engineering by various groups. In scaffold fabrication, electrospinning of ultrafine fibrous scaffolds incorporated with substantial amounts of evenly distributed HA nanoparticles is still a challenge. The problem of nanoparticle agglomeration not only reduces the electrospinning efficiency but also undermines the homogeneity of the distribution of the HA nanoparticles along the fibers. In this study, an approach using ultrasonification was developed so as to electrospin fibrous nanocomposite scaffolds having the carbonated HA (CHA) nanosphere content up to about 15 wt% with minimal agglomeration of CHA nanospheres. SEM and EDX results showed an even distribution of CHA nanospheres while FTIR results further confirmed the presence of CHA within the electrospun fibers. The nanocomposite fibrous scaffolds fabricated through this route could be used in further investigations for bone tissue engineering applications.