Fabrication And Drug Release Characterization Of Electrospun MWNTs-Polycaprolactone/Gelatin Nanofibers

Due to the controllable thickness,large specific surface area and high porosity,electrospun nanofiber membrane has been widely used in tissue engineering and drug controlled release fields.Thus,in this paper,the electrospun multiwalled carbon nanotubespoly(caprolactone)/gelatin(MWNTs-PCL/gelatin)nanofiber membranes were fabricated and their drug release performance was investigated.Firstly,the random and aligned electrospun MWNTs-PCL/gelatin nanofiber membranes with different MWNTs content were fabricated through the traditional electrospinning method.There were no defects can be observed on the surface of the electrospun nanofibers,and all of the electrospun nanofiber membranes possess high porosity up to 80%.Compared with electrospun PCL/gelatin nanofiber membranes,the fiber diameter of the electrospun MWNTsPCL/gelatin nanofibers was lower,but,the electrospun MWNTs-PCL/gelatin nanofiber membranes showed higher hydroscopicity,wettability and faster degradation rate.When the MWNTs content arrived 0.5%,the electrospun MWNTs-PCL/gelatin nanofiber membranes possess higher strength and thoughness.Compared with random electrospun nanofibers,the aligned electrospun nanofibers possess smaller fiber diameter,and the hydroscopicity,wettability,porosity and elongation at break of the aligned nanofiber membranes was lower,but,the tensile strength and elasticity modulus of the aligned nanofiber membranes was obviously improved.Secondly,the coaxial MWNTs-PCL/gelatin nanofiber membranes with different MWNTs content were fabricated through coaxial electrospinning method.The surface of the coaxial nanofibers was highly smooth without any defects occurred.Compared with coaxial PCL/gelatin nanofiber membranes,the coaxial electrospun MWNTs-PCL/gelatin nanofiber membranes possess higher wettability.When the MWNTs content arrived 0.1%,the coaxial MWNTs-PCL/gelatin nanofiber membranes possess higher strength and thoughness,when the MWNTs content arrived 5.0% the nanofiber membranes possess faster degradation rate.Finally,acetylsalicylic acid(ASA)loaded electrospun MWNTs-PCL/gelatin nanofiber membranes were fabricated and their drug release performance was investigated.The content of the MWNTs had no effect on the drug release behavior of the ASA loaded nanofiber membranes,but the ASA release rate of the aligned nanofiber membranes was lower compared with that of random nanofiber membranes.Compared with ASA loaded electrospun nanofiber membranes,the ASA loaded coaxial nanofiber membranes showed lower ASA release rate and the drug release time was prolonged.Compared with ASA loaded electrospun MWNTsPCL/gelatin nanofiber membranes,the multi-layer ASA loaded nanofiber membranes were more suitable to ASA sustained release,compared with PCL microspheres coated ASA loaded electrospun nanofiber membranes,the PCL nanofiber coated ASA loaded electrospun nanofiber membranes were more suitable for ASA sustained release.