Poly(hydroxybutyrate)/cellulose acetate blend nanofiber scaffolds: Preparation, characterization and cytocompatibility

Poly(hydroxybutyrate) (PHB)/cellulose acetate (CA) blend nanofiber scaffolds were fabricated by electrospinning using the blends of chloroform and DMF as solvent. The blend nanofiber scaffolds were characterized by SEM, FTIR, XRD, DSC, contact angle and tensile test. The blend nanofibers exhibited cylindrical, uniform, bead-free and random orientation with the diameter ranged from 80–680 nm. The scaffolds had very well interconnected porous fibrous network structure and large aspect surface areas. It was found that the presence of CA affected the crystallization of PHB due to formation of intermolecular hydrogen bonds, which restricted the preferential orientation of PHB molecules. The DSC result showed that the PHB and CA were miscible in the blend nanofiber. An increase in the glass transition temperature was observed with increasing CA content. Additionally, the mechanical properties of blend nanofiber scaffolds were largely influenced by the weight ratio of PHB/CA. The tensile strength, yield strength and elongation at break of the blend nanofiber scaffolds increased from 3.3 ± 0.35 MPa, 2.8 ± 0.26 MPa, and 8 ± 0.77% to 5.05 ± 0.52 MPa, 4.6 ± 0.82 MPa, and 17.6 ± 1.24% by increasing PHB content from 60% to 90%, respectively. The water contact angle of blend nanofiber scaffolds decreased about 50% from 112 ± 2.1° to 60 ± 0.75°. The biodegradability was evaluated by in vitro degradation test and the results revealed that the blend nanofiber scaffolds showed much higher degradation rates than the neat PHB. The cytocompatibility of the blend nanofiber scaffolds was preliminarily evaluated by cell adhesion studies. The cells incubated with PHB/CA blend nanofiber scaffold for 48 h were capable of forming cell adhesion and proliferation. It showed much better biocompatibility than pure PHB film. Thus, the prepared PHB/CA blend nanofiber scaffolds are bioactive and may be more suitable for cell proliferation suggesting that these scaffolds can be used for wound dressing or tissue-engineering scaffolds.