Marin Elia, Yoshikawa Orion, Boschetto Francesco, Honma Taigi, Adachi Tetsuya, Zhu Wenliang, Xu Huaizhong, Kanamura Narisato, Yamamoto Toshiro, Pezzotti Giuseppe
Ceramic Physics Laboratory, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Sakyo-ku, Matsugasaki, 606-8585 Kyoto, Japan.
Department of Dental Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto 602-8566, Japan.
Biomed Mater. 2022 May 16;17(4). doi: 10.1088/1748-605X/ac6c68.
Poly-caprolactone is one of the most promising biocompatible polymers on the market, in particular for temporary devices that are not subjected to high physiological loads. Even if completely resorbable in various biological environments, poly-caprolactione does not play any specific biological role in supporting tissue regeneration and for this reason has a limited range of possible applications. In this preliminary work, for the first time l-dopa and fibroin have been combined with electrospun poly-caprolactone fibers in order to induce bioactive effects and, in particular, stimulate the proliferation, adhesion and osteoconduction of the polymeric fibers. Results showed that addition of low-molecular weight fibroin reduces the mechanical strength of the fibers while promoting the formation of mineralized deposits, when testedwith KUSA-A1 mesenchymal cells. l-dopa, on the other hand, improved the mechanical properties and stimulated the formation of agglomerates of mineralized deposits containing calcium and phosphorous with high specific volume. The combination of the two substances resulted in good mechanical properties and higher amounts of mineralized deposits formed.
