Structural, thermal, mechanical and bioactivity evaluation of silver-loaded bovine bone hydroxyapatite grafted poly(ε-caprolactone) nanofibers via electrospinning

We report on poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) containing bovine bone hydroxyapatite (HA) and hydroxyapatite-silver (HA-Ag) composite nanofibers prepared via an electrospinning process for the biomedical applications. Bioactivity test was conducted by incubation in simulated body fluid (SBF). The morphology, structure and thermal properties of the PCL, PCL/HA and PCL/HA-Ag composite nanofibers before and after immersion in SBF were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and thermogravimetry (TGA). SEM images revealed that the nanofibers are well-oriented and incorporated the HA-Ag nanoparticles well. The SBF incubation test confirmed that the fast formation of apatite-like materials suggests in vitro bioactive behavior of the nanofibers. Mechanical study revealed that the yield stress of PCL/HA-Ag composite nanofibers showed a higher value than that of PCL/HA composite, possibly due to the addition of metallic Ag nanoparticles. This study demonstrated that electrospun PCL/HA and PCL/HA-Ag composite nanofibers activates bioactivity and supports growth of apatite-like materials.