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Fabrication of poly(lactic acid)-cellulose acetate core-shell electrospun fibers with improved tensile strength and biocompatibility for bone tissue engineering

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Abstract

The employment of individual poly(lactic acid) (PLA) or cellulose acetate (CA) electrospun fibers as bone tissue replacement was restricted by the weak mechanical properties of CA and the poor cell-affinity of PLA. In this study, core-shell fibers with PLA as the core component and CA as the shell layer were fabricated via coaxial electrospinning with significant improvements in the tensile strength and biocompatibility in comparison to individual PLA and CA fibers and blend PLA/CA fibers. The employment of a core-to-shell flow rate ratio of 0.25:0.5 mL/hr:mL/hr resulted in the formation of defect-free and uniformly distributed PLA-CA core-shell fibers (cs-PLA1-CA2) with the highest ultimate tensile strength (19.53 ± 1.68 MPa) and Young’s modulus (0.62 ± 0.09 GPa) among all core-shell fibers produced in this study. These tensile values match the tensile properties of native cancellous bone and represent around a 130% and 160% improvement in strength and stiffness compared to monolithic CA fibers, respectively. Higher weight fraction and improved crystallinity of PLA-core were revealed to contribute to this mechanical enhancement of cs-PLA1-CA2. An in vitro biocompatibility study was conducted using human fetal osteoblasts (hFOB). The results indicate improved cell distribution, better cell-scaffold attachment, and higher cell proliferation and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity of cs-PLA1-CA2 compared to monolithic PLA and blend PLA/CA fibers, while matching the growth performance of hFOB seeded on tissue culture polystyrene (TCP). The PLA-CA core-shell fibers produced in this study hold great promise for use as bone tissue scaffolds.

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Data availability

The raw data of this study are available from the corresponding authors upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors were grateful for the research funding for this work from the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS), Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE), Malaysia (grant no. FP048-2019 A). M. F. Abdullah also acknowledges the financial support from MOHE, Malaysia and Universiti Malaysia Perlis through the “Skim Latihan Akademik Bumiputera (SLAB)” program. The authors would also like to thank Liyana Abu and Kelvin Ng for the technical support and valuable advice that they provided during cell culture experiments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia

    Muhammad Faiq Abdullah & Bee Chin Ang

  2. Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Kompleks Pusat Pengajian Jejawi 3, Arau, Perlis, 02600, Malaysia

    Muhammad Faiq Abdullah

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia

    Andri Andriyana

  4. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia

    Farina Muhamad

  5. Centre of Advanced Materials, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia

    Muhammad Faiq Abdullah, Andri Andriyana, Farina Muhamad & Bee Chin Ang

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  1. Muhammad Faiq Abdullah
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Correspondence to Andri Andriyana, Farina Muhamad or Bee Chin Ang.

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Abdullah, M.F., Andriyana, A., Muhamad, F. et al. Fabrication of poly(lactic acid)-cellulose acetate core-shell electrospun fibers with improved tensile strength and biocompatibility for bone tissue engineering. J Polym Res 30, 257 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10965-023-03639-0

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