Fabrication and characterisation of nanofibrous polyurethane scaffold incorporated with corn and neem oil using single stage electrospinning technique for bone tissue engineering applications

Abstract

In bone tissue engineering, the design of scaffolds with ECM is still challenging now-a-days. The objective of the study to develop an electrospun scaffold based on polyurethane (PU) blended with corn oil and neem oil. The electrospun nanocomposites were characterized through scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), contact angle measurement, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and tensile strength. The assays activated prothrombin time (APTT), partial thromboplastin time (PT) and hemolysis assay were performed to determine the blood compatibility parameters of the electrospun PU and their blends of corn oil and neem oil. Further, the cytocompatibility studies were performed using HDF cells to evaluate their proliferation rates in the electrospun PU and their blends. The morphology of the electrospun PU blends showed that the addition of corn oil and corn/neem oil resulted in reduced fiber diameter of about 845 ± 117.86 nm and 735 ± 126.49 nm compared to control (890 ± 116.911 nm). The FTIR confirmed the presence of corn oil and neem oil in PU matrix through hydrogen bond formation. The PU blended with corn oil showed hydrophobic (112° ± 1) while the PU together with corn/neem oil was observed to hydrophilic (64° ± 1.732) as indicated in the measurements of contact angle. The thermal behavior of prepared PU/corn oil and PU/corn/neem oil nanocomposites were enhanced and their surface roughness were decreased compared to control as revealed in the AFM analysis. The mechanical analysis indicated the enhanced tensile strength of the developed nanocomposites (PU/corn oil - 11.88 MPa and PU/corn/neem oil - 12. 96 MPa) than the pristine PU (7.12 MPa). Further, the blood compatibility assessments revealed that the developed nanocomposites possess enhanced anticoagulant nature compared to the polyurethane. Moreover, the developed nanocomposites was non-toxic to red blood cells (RBC) and human fibroblast cells (HDF) cells as shown in the hemolytic assay and cytocompatibility studies. Finally, this study concluded that the newly developed nanocomposites with better physio-chemical characteristics and biological properties enabled them as potential candidate for bone tissue engineering.