Fabrication and characterization of biodegradable nanofibrous mats by mix and coaxial electrospinning

The aim of this study is to investigate an innovative tissue engineering scaffold with a controllable drug-releasing capability. The hypothesis is that the nanofibers fabricated by coaxial electrospinning could encapsulate and release sustainedly Tetracycline Hydrochloride (TCH). To testify the hypothesis, nanofibers were prepared by coaxial electrospinning from Poly(l-lactid-co-epsilon-caprolactone) [PLLACL]/2,2,2-Frifluoroethanol (TFE) solutions (as the shell solutions) and TCH/TFE solutions (as the core solutions). In addition, nanofibers of PLLACL-blend-TCH were also prepared as the control by mix electrospinning. The relationship between fibers morphologies and processed conditions in electrospinning were investigated. TCH release behaviors from the nanofibrous mats were studied. The antibacterial properties of aforementioned nanofibers were detected by the Escherichia coli growth-inhibiting tests. The results indicated that the nanofibers prepared by coaxial-electrospinning had the desired and controllable TCH encapsulation/release profile; thus, it could be utilized as both a drug encapsulation/release vehicle and a tissue engineering scaffold.