Optimized electro- and wet-spinning techniques for the production of polymeric fibrous scaffolds loaded with bisphosphonate and hydroxyapatite

Abstract

This research activity was aimed at the development of composite bioactive scaffolds made of biodegradable three-arm branched-star poly(ε-caprolactone) (*PCL), hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (HNPs) and clodronate (CD), a bisphosphonate that has demonstrated efficacy in the treatment of various bone diseases and as an anti-inflammatory drug. During the experimental work, the processing conditions for the fabrication of fibrous meshes, by either electrospinning or wet-spinning, were optimized. Stemming from a previous research activity on electrospinning of *PCL, *PCL/HNPs 3D meshes were developed, evaluating the influence of fabrication parameters on the fibres' morphology. By exploiting the binding affinity of bisphosphonates for hydroxyapatite, a methodology was set up for obtaining a physical linkage between CD and HNPs, with the aim of having a dual bioactive system loaded into *PCL fibrous mats. Fibres loaded with either CD or CD-HNP particles were thus produced and analysed by scanning electron microscopy for their morphology and by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy for their elemental composition.