Electrospun nerve guide scaffold of poly(ε-caprolactone)/collagen/nanobioglass: an in vitro study in peripheral nerve tissue engineering

Among various methods, nerve tissue engineering (NTE) is one of the applicable methods to reconstruct damaged nerve tissues. Electrospinning technique and biomaterials are often considered to fabricate fibrous tissue engineered conduits which have great similarity to the extracellular matrix on fiber structure. Polymer blending is one of the most effective methods for the production of new materials with outstanding features. In this study, conduit structures as main part of the peripheral nerve regeneration based on polymer blend nanocomposites poly(ε-caprolactone)/collagen/nanobioglass (PCL/collagen/NBG) were manufactured by electrospinning technique. Various properties of electrospun mats were investigated by using contact angle, tensile, degradation time, porosity, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), and wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS). The SEM analysis was shown that size range and average pore size of polymer blend nanocomposite nanofibers were about 250–400 nm and 0.7 µm, respectively, with an optimum porosity of 62.5%. The XRD result was shown that synthesized nanoparticles of NBG had amorphous structures. Also, FTIR analysis indicated that good interaction between polymer–polymer macromolecules and polymer particles. The contact angle and tensile tests were indicated that electrospun webs showed good hydrophilicity and toughness properties. According to SEM, MTT assay and DAPI staining technique, the ability to support cell attachment and viability of samples were characterized. In vitro study indicated electrospun collagen/PCL/NBG nanofibrous conduit promoted Human Endometrial Stem cells (hEnSCs) adhesion and proliferation.