The effect of alternative solvents on the biocompatibility of centrifugally spun poly-ε-caprolactone
Abstract
Suitable scaffolds for tissue engineering should promote several features that enable regeneration of the damaged tissue in vivo. In general, nano- to microfibrous meshes resemble extracellular matrix and support cell adhesion; three dimensional scaffolds, together with interconnected pores, promote cell migration into the volume of the scaffolds.
Furthermore, the scaffold should be biodegradable with no harmful byproducts and easy to produce. Centrifugal spinning is an alternative method, to widely used electrospinning method, to produce 3D scaffolds suitable for use in tissue engineering.
In this study, we tested different molecular weights and solvent systems of poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL) that were produced by the centrifugal spinning method. The produced scaffolds were characterized and seeded with Saos2 osteosarcoma cell line to verify their biocompatibility.
We concluded from the results that group 4 scaffold, produced from a mixture of two molecular weights of PCL dissolved in acetic acid/formic acid, supported cell adhesion, proliferation and metabolic activity the most out of all the tested scaffolds. The other PCL scaffolds were prepared either from one type of molecular weight of PCL or chloroform was solely used to produce the scaffolds.