Fabrication and Characterization of Poly(ε-caprolactone)/α-Cyclodextrin Pseudorotaxane Nanofibers

Biomacromolecules. 2016 Jan 11;17(1):271-9. doi: 10.1021/acs.biomac.5b01379. Epub 2015 Dec 23.

Abstract

Multifunctional scaffolds comprising neat poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and α-cyclodextrin pseudorotaxanated in α-cyclodextrin form have been fabricated using a conventional electrospinning process. Thorough in-depth characterizations were performed on the pseudorotaxane nanofibers prepared from chloroform (CFM) and CFM/dimethylformamide (DMF) utilizing scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), rheology, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analyses (TGA), wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), and Instron tensile testing. The results indicate the nanofibers obtained from chloroform retain the rotaxanated structure; while those obtained from CFM/DMF had significantly dethreaded during electrospinning. As a consequence, the nanowebs obtained from CFM showed higher moduli and lower elongations at break compared to neat PCL nanowebs and PCL/α-CD nanowebs electrospun from CFM/DMF.

MeSH terms

  • Biocompatible Materials / chemical synthesis*
  • Biocompatible Materials / chemistry
  • Calorimetry, Differential Scanning
  • Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
  • Nanofibers / chemistry*
  • Polyesters / chemical synthesis*
  • Polyesters / chemistry
  • Rotaxanes / chemical synthesis*
  • Rotaxanes / chemistry
  • Tissue Engineering / methods*
  • Tissue Scaffolds / chemistry*
  • X-Ray Diffraction
  • alpha-Cyclodextrins / chemical synthesis*
  • alpha-Cyclodextrins / chemistry

Substances

  • Biocompatible Materials
  • Polyesters
  • Rotaxanes
  • alpha-Cyclodextrins
  • polycaprolactone
  • alpha-cyclodextrin