Manufacturing of polycaprolactone - Graphene fibers for nerve tissue engineering

Nanofibrous structures have morphological similarities to extracellular matrix and have been considered as candidate scaffolds in tissue engineering. Scaffolds made from electrospun fibers have potential in cell adhesion, proliferation and cell function. In this study, different percentages of graphene have been dispersed in a polycaprolactone-cyclopentanone solution to produce electrospun fibers. The microstructure and morphology of the fibers and the mechanical behavior of the electrospun systems were evaluated to analyze the influence of graphene content on the performances of the fibers. A significant dimensional difference between the fibers diameters of was obtained due to the graphene percentage. Accordingly, the mechanical properties of the fibrous systems are found to be influenced by the presence of the graphene. Rat stem cells were cultured on the fibrous scaffolds to evaluate the effect of the arrangement of the fibers on the morphology of the cells and differentiation into neurons. In particular, a higher population of dopaminergic neurons has been identified on the fibers with a higher percentage of graphene.