Nanodiamond-polycaprolactone composite: A new material for tissue engineering with sub-dermal imaging capabilities

•A new hybrid nanodiamond-polycaprolactone (ND-PCL) material was formed.•ND-PCL has increased cell proliferation and survival than PCL.•ND fluorescence can be sub-dermally imaged by a laser in porcine pinna skin.•Our embedded ND-PCL material shows promise for in vivo tracking of PCL dissolution.

For tissue scaffolding, it is desirable for the scaffold to promote growth of the native tissue, before the scaffold is ultimately replaced by tissue. While polycaprolactone (PCL) is a superb scaffold material, it is impossible to non-invasively monitor its degradation. Here, incorporating fluorescent nanodiamonds into PCL, we show sub-dermal fluorescence imaging of PCL. This provides an opportunity to monitor PCL degradation to assess real-time tissue uptake and replacement. Furthermore, nanodiamonds increase the hydrophillicity PCL, and hence may increase tissue uptake rates, opening new applications for PCL.