Preparation, Characterization and Mechanical Assessment of Poly (Lactide-Co-Glycolide)/ Hyaluronic Acid/ Fibrin/ Bioactive Glass Nano-composite Scaffolds for Cartilage Tissue Engineering Applications

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the microstructural and mechanical properties of poly (Lactide-co-Glycolide) (PLGA) and PLGA/ Hyaluronic acid (Ha)/ Fibrin (F)/ Bioactive glass (BG) nanocomposite scaffolds for cartilage tissue engineering. Nanocomposite scaffolds composed of PLGA/ Ha/ F/ BG, containing different amounts of Ha, F, and BG nanoparticles were prepared via solvent casting and particulate leaching (SC/PL) techniques. Characterization techniques such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), were performed. Furthermore, mechanical properties of the PLGA and nanocomposite scaffolds were determined. The results revealed that the scaffolds contain sufficient porosity with highly interconnected pore morphology. Desired distribution of BG nanoparticles with a few agglomerates was observed in the nanocomposite scaffolds by microscopic techniques. Increase the amount of fibrin enhanced compressive modulus and compressive strength of the nanocomposite scaffolds.