Fabrication and Characterization of Poly(ε-caprolactone)/α-Cyclodextrin Pseudorotaxane Nanofibers

• Published in: Biomacromolecules 2016-01, Vol.17 (1), p.271-279
• Main Authors: Narayanan, Ganesh, Aguda, Remil, Hartman, Matthew, Chung, Ching-Chang, Boy, Ramiz, Gupta, Bhupender S, Tonelli, Alan E
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: alpha-Cyclodextrins - chemical synthesis; alpha-Cyclodextrins - chemistry; Biocompatible Materials - chemical synthesis; Biocompatible Materials - chemistry; Calorimetry, Differential Scanning; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; Nanofibers - chemistry; Polyesters - chemical synthesis; Polyesters - chemistry; Rotaxanes - chemical synthesis; Rotaxanes - chemistry; Tissue Engineering - methods; Tissue Scaffolds - chemistry; X-Ray Diffraction
• ISSN: 1525-7797; 1526-4602
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.5b01379

Multifunctional scaffolds comprising neat poly­(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and α-cyclodextrin pseudorotaxanated in α-cyclodextrin form have been fabricated using a conventional electrospinning process. Thorough in-depth characterizations were performed on the pseudorotaxane nanofibers prepared from chloroform (CFM) and CFM/dimethylformamide (DMF) utilizing scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), rheology, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analyses (TGA), wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), and Instron tensile testing. The results indicate the nanofibers obtained from chloroform retain the rotaxanated structure; while those obtained from CFM/DMF had significantly dethreaded during electrospinning. As a consequence, the nanowebs obtained from CFM showed higher moduli and lower elongations at break compared to neat PCL nanowebs and PCL/α-CD nanowebs electrospun from CFM/DMF.