Poly(l-lactide-co-ɛ-caprolactone) electrospun nanofibers for encapsulating and sustained releasing proteins

The aim of this study was to investigate coaxial electrospun poly(l-lactide-co-ɛ-caprolactone) [PLLACL] nanofibers for the application in nerve tissue engineering. The hypothesis was that the nanofibrous mats fabricated by coaxial electrospun PLLACL could be effective scaffolds for releasing proteins, such as Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) or/and Nerve Growth Factor (NGF), in a sustained manner. To test the hypothesis, the coaxial electrospun nanofibers with PLLACL as the shell and BSA/NGF as the core were characterized. Morphologies and mechanical properties of nanofibrous mats were examined. BSA released behavior was studied. The results demonstrated that BSA could be sustainedly released from coaxial electrospun PLLACL nanofibers, however, BSA released from mix electrospun nanofibers present the burst release behavior. Bioactivity of released NGF from coaxial electrospun nanofibers was verified by testing the differentiation of rat pheochromocytoma cells (PC12).