Porous PCL/Chitosan and nHA/PCL/Chitosan Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering Applications: Fabrication and Evaluation

Two semicrystalline polymers were blended to fabricate porous scaffolds for tissue engineering applications. Scaffolds containing polycaprolactone (PCL)/chitosan and nanohydroxyapatite (nHA) incorporated nHA/PCL/chitosan were produced using the freeze-drying technique. A model drug, tetracycline hydrochloride (tetracycline HCL), was incorporated into the scaffolds. The scaffolds were characterized using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), EDX, and water contact angle. The antibacterial properties of the nHA/PCL/chitosan/tetracycline HCL scaffold were tested and the scaffolds showed positive results on gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. The cell biocompatibility using human skin fibroblast cells (HSF 1184) was examined. The scaffold materials were found to be nontoxic to human skin fibroblast cells (HSF 1184) and showed positive proliferation activities. The nHA/PCL/chitosan/tetracycline HCL scaffold has potential for controlling implant-associated bacterial infections during operative procedures and can potentially be used as a scaffold for tissue engineering applications.