Skin Tissue Engineering Electrospun Scaffold Based on PCL/PVA/ Aloevera

Abstract

Artificial skins and skin substitutes are one of the most important areas of tissue engineering. In this work, three dimensional biodegradable nanofiberous scaffolds containing poly(caprolactone) (PCL), poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and aloevera (AV) were successfully fabricated through two nozzles electrospinning process. For this purpose, PVA/AV blend solution was injected from one syringe and poly(caprolactone) solution from the other one. Addition of PVA and PCL improved the electrospinability of AV solution and mechanical properties of the fabricated nanofibers. Scaffolds were evaluated by SEM and FTIR analysis. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results showed uniform PVA/AV-PCL blend-hybrid nanofibers with the diameter average about 119.75 ± 11.75 nm. The presence of nanofibers functional groups was evaluated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The sharp peaks observed in the nanofibers could be assigned to the asymmetric and symmetric stretching vibrations of methylene groups and carbonyl groups.