Synthesis and characterization of conductive neural tissue engineering scaffolds based on urethane-polycaprolactone

Polymeric biomaterials play a key role in enhancement of lengthy nerve regeneration and various types of scaffolds were used to pave the way for nerve regeneration. Electrospun fibrous scaffolds have special potential applicability in controlling the cell behaviors such as adhesion, growth, proliferation and function. This study attempted to design a conductive and porous fibrous scaffold containing polycaprolactone (PCL) and polyaniline (PANI) with controllable degradation rate by adding urethane groups in scaffold structures. FTIR and NMR analysis was used to characterize the chemical bonds. Morphology, porosity, conductivity and degradation rate of scaffolds were also evaluated. To assess the cell-scaffold interaction, PC-12 cell line was cultured on the scaffolds. Results showed that the degradation rate of composite samples significantly increased in 50 time period. It seems that these results suggest that the composite fibrous scaffolds having proportions of UPCL/PCL/PANI45:20:35 exhibit the most balanced properties that meet all of the required specifications for neural cells and possess a potential application in neural tissue engineering.