Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Recently, poly (lactic acid)/hydroxyapatite composite scaffolds have been widely used due to good biodegradation and biocompatibility. But poly (lactic acid)/hydroxyapatite composite material can not satisfy the requirements of ideal tissue-engineered scaffold materials owing to drawbacks in some aspects including enhancing material surface binding, adjusting material degradation velocity, and improving material intensity.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the structural morphology and surface hydrophilicity of nanometer fiber membrane prepared by electrospinning.
METHODS: Poly(lactic acid), poly (3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate), and poly(propylene carbonate) nanometer fiber membranes were respectively prepared by electrospinning. The structural morphology of these three nanometer fiber membranes, as well as the surface hydrophilicity after soaking in phosphate buffered saline (37 ℃, pH 7.4) similar to human body environment for different time periods, was observed through the use of scanning electron microscope.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Poly(lactic acid), poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate), and poly(propylene carbonate) could be prepared into micro- and nano-sized fiber structure by electrospinning. Different fiber diameters of nanometer fiber membranes could be produced by controlling preparation parameters. With the prolonged soaking time in culture medium, the contact angle of three fiber members was reduced greatly and surface hydrophilicity was gradually enhanced.