Dual Nanofiber Scaffolds Composed of Polyurethane- Gelatin /Nylon 6- Gelatin for Bone Tissue Engineering

Abstract The aim of the present study was to develop a fibrous scaffold with unique physiochemical, mechanical and biocompatible characteristics with morphological structure similar to the native extracellular matrix (ECM). A dual non-woven ultrafine fibrous scaffold composed of polyurethane (PU)/Nylon 6 (N6) hybrid polymers mixed with natural gelatin (Gel) was fabricated by a dual syringe electrospinning technique. Pronounced dual composite fine fibers of PU/N6 (148 ± 43 nm) and (PU-Gel)/(N6-Gel) (161 ± 79 nm) with an interconnected porosity were obtained. The dual N6/Pu fibrous scaffold showed higher tensile strength and tensile modulus than a dual PU-Gel/N6-Gel scaffold, whereas the dual composite fibrous scaffold containing Gel induced the largest elongation at breaking load. Biomimetic mineralization characteristics observed at different time intervals showed the formation of a bone apatite like layer on the dual composite fibrous scaffold, indicating good bioactivity. The dual (PU-Gel)/(N6-Gel) nanofibers composite fibrous scaffold had better wettability compared to the other scaffolds, and supported high osteoblast cell proliferation. This suggests that the fabricated dual composite fibrous scaffolds containing gelatin may have the potential to be applied in bone tissue engineering.