Fabrication and characterization of chitosan-gelatin/single-walled carbon nanotubes electrospun composite scaffolds for cartilage tissue engineering applications

Abstract

Cartilage is a connective tissue with a slow healing rate due to lack in blood circulation and slow metabolism. Designing tissue engineering scaffolds modified based on its specific features can assist its natural regeneration process. In this study, the chitosan-gelatin/single-walled carbon nanotubes functionalized by COOH (SWNTs-COOH) nanocomposite scaffolds were fabricated through electrospinning. The effect of each component and different duration of cross-linking were assessed in terms of morphology, porosity, chemical structure, thermal behavior, mechanical properties, wettability, biodegradability, and in vitro cell culture study. Adding SWNTs-COOH decreased fiber diameter, water contact angle and degradation rate while increased tensile strength, hydrophilicity, stability and cell viability, due to their high intrinsic electrical conductivity, and mechanical properties and the presence of COOH functional groups in its structure. All the sample presented a porosity percentage of more than 80, which is essential for tissue engineering scaffolds. The presence SWNTs-COOH did not have any adverse effect on cytocompatibility. The optimal cross-linking time increased the stability of the scaffolds in PBS. It can be concluded that the chitosan-gelatin/1wt SWNTs-COOH scaffold can be appropriate for cartilage tissue engineering applications. © 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.