A Basic Approach Toward the Development of Nanocomposite Magnetic Scaffolds for Advanced Bone Tissue Engineering

Magnetic scaffolds for bone tissue engineer- ing based on a poly(e-caprolactone) (PCL) matrix and iron oxide (Fe3O4) magnetic nanoparticles were designed and developed through a three-dimensional (3D) fiber-deposi- tion technique. PCL/Fe3O4 scaffolds were characterized by a 90/10 w/w composition. Tensile and magnetic measure- ments were carried out, and nondestructive 3D imaging was performed through microcomputed tomography (Micro-CT). Furthermore, confocal analysis was under- taken to investigate human mesenchymal stem cell adhe- sion and spreading on the PCL/Fe3O4 nanocomposite fibers. The results suggest that nanoparticles mechanically reinforced the PCL matrix; the elastic modulus and the maximum stress increased about 10 and 30%, respectively. However, the maximum strain decreased about 50%; this suggested an enhanced brittleness. Magnetic results evi- denced a superparamagnetic behavior for these nano- composite scaffolds. Micro-CT suggested an almost uniform distribution of nanoparticles. Confocal analysis highlighted interesting results in terms of cell adhesion and spreading. All of these results show that a magnetic feature could be incorporated into a polymeric matrix that could be processed to manufacture scaffolds for advanced bone tissue engineering and, thus, provide new opportunity in terms of scaffold fixation and functionaliza- tion. V C 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 122: 3599- 3605, 2011