Preparation of composite nanofibres for Bone Tissue Regeneration

Abstract

Electro spinning technique is used to produce continuous nanofiber for different application area like preparation of scaffold, microbial filtration membrane, gas filtration membrane and controlled drug delivery system. The present study is an attempt to develop composite nanofibers that are biomimetic and bioactive and accordingly promote cell-scaffold interactions while being used as scaffolds for engineering tissues. The approach proposed involves compounding (hybridizing) two different polymers, both of which are biocompatible and biodegradable, but one is synthetic and the other is of natural origin. They are incorporated into one composite nanofiber from random blending or forming into a core-sheath structure via an advanced electrospinning technique. Composites in the form of nanofibers have been obtained by electrospinning technique. A gelatin/PMMA (Poly Methyl-Methacrylate) nanofibrous scaffold was prepared using Electro-spinning Technique to mimic both the physical architecture and chemical composition of natural bone ECM (Extra Cellular Matrix). With the help of electrospinning technique composite nanofibers were fabricated and it was found that with 45:55 gelatin:PMMA concentration was the most suitable composition for spinning to obtained fiber. This 45:55 ratio composite scaffold was then characterised using various techniques like SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy), FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy), EDS (Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy). The gelatin/PMMA nanofibers obtained under optimum composition of the solution are again electrospun by varying the feed rate values to see its affect on the fiber morphology. Thus it was found that with the feed rate 0.3 ml/h, the nanofibers formed had an average diameter in the range of 250-300 nm and had suitable properties mostly desired for bone tissue regeneration