Poly (ε-caprolactone)-Based Scaffolds with Multizonal Architecture: Synthesis, Characterization, and In Vitro Tests

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Tissue Engineering
• Regenerative Medicine

Background:

• Tissue engineering aims to restore damaged tissues by accelerating healing.
• Multizonal scaffolds mimicking native tissue architecture are crucial for effective regeneration.
• Developing advanced scaffolds requires understanding material properties and biological interactions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To fabricate and characterize multizonal scaffolds using rotary jet spinning (RJS) for tissue engineering applications.
• To investigate the effects of alginate hydrogel concentration and pracaxi oil (PO) incorporation on scaffold properties.
• To evaluate the in vitro cytotoxicity of the developed scaffolds.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of polycaprolactone/alginate scaffolds using rotary jet spinning.
• Incorporation of varying alginate concentrations (2-6% m/v) and pracaxi oil.
• Characterization using X-ray diffraction (XRD), surface morphology, wettability, FTIR, and thermal analysis.
• In vitro cytotoxicity assessment using cell viability assays.

Main Results:

• RJS scaffolds exhibited bilayer architecture with tunable wettability gradients (0-80.91°) and pore sizes (9.27-37.57 μm).
• XRD analysis indicated reduced crystallinity in polycaprolactone/pracaxi/alginate (PCLOA) scaffolds due to PO presence.
• FTIR confirmed molecular interactions, and thermal analysis showed reduced degradation temperatures.
• In vitro tests revealed decreased cell viability with increasing alginate and PO content.

Conclusions:

• The study successfully fabricated RJS scaffolds with tailored properties for potential tissue engineering use.
• Alginate hydrogel and pracaxi oil influenced scaffold crystallinity, wettability, and thermal behavior.
• Reduced cell viability necessitates further optimization to enhance biocompatibility for in vivo applications.