Preparation and characterization of biohybrid poly (3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) based nanofibrous scaffolds

Development of bioengineered scaffolds for bone tissue regeneration is a growing area of research, especially those involving biodegradable electrospun nanofibers incorporated with ceramic nanoparticles, since they can mimic the extracellular matrix (ECM) of the native bone. In the current study, a biocomposite nanofibrous scaffolds consisting of poly (3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV), fibrinogen (FIB) and bredigite (BR) nanoparticles was fabricated through electrospinning. The morphological, chemical and mechanical characteristics of the resultant scaffolds were studied by using field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and tensile tester, respectively. It was found that PHBV-FIB-BR scaffolds exhibited enhanced tensile strength and young modulus compared to PHBV and PHBV-FIB scaffolds. In addition, the measurements of the water contact angle suggested that incorporation of bredigite and fibrinogen into PHBV could improve the hydrophilicity of the composites. The results of bioactivity assessment performed in the simulated body fluid (SBF) demonstrated that the presence of the bredigite nanoparticles induced the nucleation and growth of apatite layer on the surface of PHBV-FIB-BR scaffold in SBF. Furthermore, the ion concentration changes of SBF solutions with composite scaffolds showed that PHBV-FIB-BR scaffolds released Ca and Si ions, which can stimulate osteoblast proliferation. The results of cell culture studies revealed the higher osteoblast proliferation, mineralization and differentiation on PHBV-FIB-BR and PHBV-FIB scaffolds than on PHBV. Our results suggest that PHBV-FIB-BR nanofibrous scaffold would be a promising candidate as a biocomposite nanofibrous scaffold material for tissue engineering applications.