Effect of surfactant types on the biocompatibility of electrospun HAp/PHBV composite nanofibers

Surface Modification of Nano-Hydroxyapatite/Polymer Composite for Bone Tissue Repair Applications: A Review

Nano-hydroxyapatite (n-HA) is the main inorganic component of natural bone, which has been widely used as a reinforcing filler for polymers in bone materials, and it can promote cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation. It can also produce interactions between cells and material surfaces through selective protein adsorption and has therefore always been a research hotspot in orthopedic materials. However, n-HA nano-particles are inherently easy to agglomerate and difficult to disperse evenly in the polymer. In addition, there are differences in trace elements between n-HA nano-particles and biological apatite, so the biological activity needs to be improved, and the slow degradation in vivo, which has seriously hindered the application of n-HA in bone fields, is unacceptable. Therefore, the modification of n-HA has been extensively reported in the literature. This article reviewed the physical modification and various chemical modification methods of n-HA in recent years, as well as their modification effects. In particular, various chemical modification methods and their modification effects were reviewed in detail. Finally, a summary and suggestions for the modification of n-HA were proposed, which would provide significant reference for achieving high-performance n-HA in biomedical applications.

Electrospun nanofiber mats as sorbents for polar emerging organic contaminants: Demonstrating tailorable material performance for uptake of neonicotinoid insecticides from water

The number and diversity of chemical contaminants in aquatic environments require versatile technologies for their removal. Here we fabricated various electrospun nanofiber mats (ENMs) and tested their ability to sorb six neonicotinoid insecticides, a model family of small, polar contaminants. ENM formulations were polyacrylonitrile (PAN) or carbon nanofibers (CNF; carbonized from PAN), with additives including carbon nanotubes (CNTs; with and without surface carboxyl groups), the cationic surfactant tetrabutyl ammonium bromide (TBAB), and/or phthalic acid (PTA; a CNF porogen). While sorption on pure PAN ENMs was low [equilibrium partition coefficients (K ENM-W ) from 0.9 to 1.2 log units (L/kg)], inclusion of CNTs and/or TBAB generally increased uptake in an additive fashion, with carboxylated CNT composites outperforming non-functionalized CNT analogs. CNF ENMs exhibited as much as a tenfold increase relative to PAN for neonicotinoid sorption, which increased with carbonization temperature. Ultimately, the optimal ENM (CNFs with carboxylated-CNTs, PTA, and carbonized at 800 °C) exhibited relatively fast uptake (equilibrium < 1 day without mixing) and surface-area-normalized capacities comparable to other carbonaceous sorbents (e.g., activated carbon). Collectively, this work demonstrates the versatility of electrospinning to produce novel sorbents specifically designed to target emerging chemical classes for applications including water treatment and passive sampling.

Enhanced Cells Anchoring to Electrospun Hybrid Scaffolds With PHBV and HA Particles for Bone Tissue Regeneration

Hybrid materials combining organic and inorganic compounds used as scaffolds are highly beneficial in bone regeneration. In this study, we successfully produced by blend electrospinning poly(3-hydroxybutyric acid-co-3-hydrovaleric acid) (PHBV) scaffolds enriched with hydroxyapatite (HA) particles to biomimic bone tissue for improved and faster regeneration processes. The morphology, fiber diameters, and composition of the scaffolds were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques followed by focused ion beam (FIB) sectioning to verify HA particles integration with PHBV fibers. In vitro cell culture was performed for 7 days and followed with the cell proliferation test (CellTiter-Blue^® Assay). Additionally, cell integration with the scaffold was visualized by confocal and SEM imaging. We developed a simple way of obtaining hybrid scaffolds by electrospinning PHBV solution with HA particles without any post-processing. The PHBV + HA scaffold enhanced cell proliferation and filopodia formation responsible for cell anchoring within the created 3D environment. The obtained results show the great potential in the development of hybrid scaffolds stimulating bone tissue regeneration.

Optical and biological properties of polymer-based nanocomposites with improved dispersion of ceramic nanoparticles

This article reports a new process for creating polymer-based nanocomposites with enhanced dispersion of ceramic nanoparticles without using any surfactants, and the resulted changes in their optical and biological properties. Specifically, dispersion of two different ceramic nanoparticles, that is, hydroxyapatite (nHA) and magnesium oxide (nMgO) nanoparticles, in a model biodegradable polymer, namely poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), was studied. High-power sonication was integrated with dual asymmetric centrifugal (DAC) mixing to improve dispersion of nanoparticles during solvent casting. The polymer/solvent ratio was optimized to improve nanoparticle dispersion in the multistep processing, including enhancing the efficacy of sonication and DAC mixing and reducing nanoparticle sedimentation during solvent-casting. Microstructural characterization confirmed that this new process improved nanoparticle dispersion in nMgO/PLGA and nHA/PLGA nanocomposites. Improved nanoparticle dispersion increased the optical transparency visually and optical transmission quantitatively for both nHA/PLGA and nMgO/PLGA nanocomposites. Improved dispersion of nanoparticles improved the adhesion of bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) on nHA/PLGA but decreased BMSC viability on nMgO/PLGA. This difference is likely because the chemistry of nHA and nMgO had different effects on BMSCs. This study provided a new process for enhancing dispersion of ceramic nanoparticles in a polymer matrix and revealed the effects of dispersion on optical properties and cell responses, which are valuable for engineering optimal ceramic/polymer nanocomposites for different biomedical applications. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 106A: 2692-2707, 2018.

Electrospun Ceramic Nanofiber Mats Today: Synthesis, Properties, and Applications

Ceramic nanofibers (NFs) have recently been developed for advanced applications due to their unique properties. In this article, we review developments in electrospun ceramic NFs with regard to their fabrication process, properties, and applications. We find that surface activity of electrospun ceramic NFs is improved by post pyrolysis, hydrothermal, and carbothermal processes. Also, when combined with another surface modification methods, electrospun ceramic NFs result in the advancement of properties and widening of the application domains. With the decrease in diameter and length of a fiber, many properties of fibrous materials are modified; characteristics of such ceramic NFs are different from their wide and long (bulk) counterparts. In this article, electrospun ceramic NFs are reviewed with an emphasis on their applications as catalysts, membranes, sensors, biomaterials, fuel cells, batteries, supercapacitors, energy harvesting systems, electric and magnetic parts, conductive wires, and wearable electronic textiles. Furthermore, properties of ceramic nanofibers, which enable the above applications, and techniques to characterize them are briefly outlined.

Antimicrobial filtration with electrospun poly(vinyl alcohol) nanofibers containing benzyl triethylammonium chloride: Immersion, leaching, toxicity, and filtration tests

Antimicrobial electrospun poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) nanofibers were synthesized by impregnating benzyl triethylammonium chloride (BTEAC) as an antimicrobial agent into PVA nanofibers. The BTEAC-PVA nanofibers were heat-methanol treated during the preparation for various tests. The BTEAC-PVA nanofibers became more hydrophilic than the PVA nanofibers due to incorporation of BTEAC. Through heat-methanol treatment, thermal property, crystallinity, and water stability of BTEAC-PVA nanofibers were improved considerably. The immersion test shows that heat-methanol treatment has an advantage over heat treatment to maintain BTEAC content in BTEAC-PVA nanofibers. The acute toxicity test demonstrates that the 24-h EC₅₀ and 48-h EC₅₀ values (EC₅₀ = median effective concentration) of BTEAC to Daphnia magna were 113 and 90 mg/L, respectively. The leaching test indicates that the BTEAC concentration leached from BTEAC-PVA nanofibers was far below the concentration affecting the immobilization of D. magna. For antimicrobial filtration tests, the BTEAC-PVA nanofibers were deposited onto glass fiber filter. The antimicrobial filtration test was conducted against bacteria (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus) and bacteriophages (MS2, PhiX174), demonstrating that the BTEAC-PVA nanofibers could enhance the removal of E. coli and S. aureus considerably but not the removal of MS2 and PhiX174 under dynamic flow conditions.