Journal of Materials Science, Vol.48, No.10, 3659-3664, 2013
Preparation and characterization of electrospun poly(epsilon-caprolactone)-poly(l-lactic acid) nanofiber tubes
Recently, attempts have been made to develop nanofiber tubes suitable for nerve regeneration made of biodegradable nanofibers. Among all polymeric nanofibers, poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL) is distinctively known for better mechanical stability and poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) for relatively faster biodegradability. Our purpose of study is to investigate their blending compatibility and the ability to form nanofiber tubes via electrospinning. We electrospun the PCL-PLLA nanofiber tubular using different blend ratios of PCL-PLLA. The electrospun nanofibers were continuously deposited over high speed rotating mandrel to fabricate nanofiber tubes having inner diameter of 2 mm and the wall thickness of 55-65 mu m. The diameters of nanofibers were between 715 and 860 nm. The morphologies of PCL-PLLA nanofiber tubes were examined under scanning electron microscope, and showed better structural stability and formability than the neat PLLA nanofibers. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy study revealed that the PCL-PLLA blend nanofiber exhibited characteristic peaks of both PCL and PLLA and was composition-dependent. Raman and X-ray diffraction studies showed that the increasing PCL ratio in the PCL-PLLA blend increased crystallinity of PCL-PLLA blends. Differential scanning calorimetry revealed recrystallization peaks in PCL-PLLA blends ratios of 1:2 and 1:1. Based on characterization, the electrospun PCL-PLLA nanofiber tubes is considered to be a better candidate for further in vivo or in vitro investigation, and resolve biocompatibility issues in tissue engineering.