Preparation and characterization of a self-crimp side-by-side bicomponent electrospun material

摘要

Bicomponent composite fibers have been widely used in the textile industry and are gaining increasing attention on biomedical applications. In this research, polycaprolactone/poly (lactic acid) side-by-side bicomponent fibers were created for the application of a biodegradable scaffold. The side-by-side structure endowed the fiber with self-crimps when it was processed under certain conditions. This material was produced by electrospinning and collected on a high speed rotating mandrel to get highly oriented fibers. A mechanical stretch at the same direction was done followed by a wet heat treatment for polymer retraction. Crimped fibers were demonstrated by scanning electron microscopy. The quantitative porosity and uniaxial tensile strength was not affected by the post-treatments, but the cell ingrowth and proliferation after seeding the scaffold were significantly improved. In conclusion, the side-by-side crimped material serves as a better extracellular matrix analogue without sacrificing mechanical properties.