A PROPOSED FABRICATION METHOD OF NOVEL PCL-GEL-HAp NANOCOMPOSITE SCAFFOLDS FOR BONE TISSUE ENGINEERING APPLICATIONS

In this study, poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL), gelatin (GEL) and nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite (HAp) was applied to fabricate novel PCL-GEL-HAp nanaocomposite scaffolds through a new fabrication method. With the aim of finding the best fabrication method, after testing different methods and solvents, the best method and solvents were found, and the nanocomposites were prepared through layer solvent casting combined with freeze-drying. Acetone and distillated water were used as the PCL and GEL solvents, respectively. The mechanical test showed that the increasing of the PCL weight through the scaffolds caused the improvement of the final nanocomposite mechanical behavior due to the increasing of the ultimate stress, stiffness and elastic modulus (8 MPa for 0% wt PCL to 23.5 MPa for 50% wt PCL). The biomineralization investigation of the scaffolds revealed the formation of bone-like apatite layers after immersion in simulated body fluid (SBF). In addition, the in vitro cytotoxity of the scaffolds using L929 mouse fibroblast cell line (ATCC) indicated no sign of toxicity. These results indicated that the fabricated scaffold possesses the prerequisites for bone tissue engineering applications.