Polycaprolactone/Amino-β-Cyclodextrin Inclusion Complex Prepared by an Electrospinning Technique

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Polymer Chemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL) is a widely used biodegradable polymer for tissue engineering scaffolds.
• Incorporating β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and its derivatives can enhance scaffold properties for biomedical applications.
• Developing robust electrospinning techniques is crucial for creating defect-free PCL-based scaffolds.

Purpose of the Study:

• To prepare and characterize electrospun scaffolds of neat PCL, PCL/β-CD, and PCL/β-CD-NH₂.
• To investigate the effect of different solvent systems on the electrospinning process and scaffold morphology.
• To explore the potential of these scaffolds in the biomedical field.

Main Methods:

• Electrospinning of PCL, PCL/β-CD, and PCL/β-CD-NH₂ formulations.
• Solvent system screening using dimethylformamide (DMF)-tetrahydrofuran (THF), dichlormethane (DCM)-dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), and 2,2,2-Trifluoroethanol (TFE).
• Characterization using X-ray diffraction (XRD), FESEM, FTIR-ATR, DSC, confocal-Raman spectroscopy, ¹HNMR, and contact angle measurements.
• Theoretical analysis using the Hartree-Fock method with an STO-3G basis set.

Main Results:

• Electrospun nanofibers exhibited a pseudorotaxane structure.
• 2,2,2-Trifluoroethanol (TFE) as a solvent yielded well-formed nanofibers without defects.
• Other solvent mixtures resulted in scaffolds with defects like molten fibers and beads.
• Successful preparation of PCL/β-CD-NH₂ inclusion complexes.

Conclusions:

• The choice of solvent significantly impacts the quality of electrospun PCL-based scaffolds.
• 2,2,2-Trifluoroethanol (TFE) is a suitable solvent for fabricating defect-free PCL/β-CD-NH₂ nanofibers.
• These PCL/β-CD-NH₂ scaffolds show promise for biomedical applications.