Preparation and Characterization of AEMA Grafted PCL Nanofibers Using Gamma-ray Irradiation

Abstract

Polycaprolactone (PCL) has been applied to tissue engineering because it has excellent biocompatibility and biodegradable properties. However, there is a limit to hydrophobic surface and low cell adhesion, therefore the PCL requires surface modification for increasing hydrophilicity and cell adhesion capacity. In this study, PCL films and nano fibers were manufactured by solvent casting and electrospinning, respectively. They were modified by 2-aminoethylmethacrylate (AEMA) that had hydrophilicity and amine groups of positive charge using gamma-irradiation. The surface properties of AEMA-grafted PCL films and nanofibers were confirmed by ATR-F FIR, and amine groups were increased by surface area and gamma-irradiation dose. A significantly higher amount of negative-charged proteins adhered to hydrophilic and cationic surface of AEMA-grafted PCL nanofibers than that of AEMA-grafted PCL films, because of increased amine groups and electrostatic interaction. The results show that AEMA-grafted PCL nanofibers are possible to apply tissue engineering scaffolds.