The effect of titanium dioxide nanoparticles on the morphology and physical/mechanical properties of poly(L-lactic acid)/gelatin hybrid nanofibers as potential scaffolds in tissue engineering

In the preparation of electrospun scaffolds for tissue engineering (TE) applications, achieving adequate morphological uniformity and satisfactory physical/mechanical properties are among the primary purposes. Meanwhile, the addition of nanoparticles (NPs) may complicate the electrospinning process.   Hence, the systems should be design in a way that simultaneously meet the set of these requirements. With this aim, in the present work, different concentrations of titanium dioxide (TiO2) NPs were added to a Poly(L-lactic acid)  (PLLA) solution with 12 wt.v% in concentration. Then the set was co-electrospun with a 25 wt./v% Gelatin (GL) solution. Based on the morphlogical and physical/mechanical properties of final mats, it was observed that the presence of nonagglomerated TiO2 NPs (1.5 wt./v %) provided higher fiber uniformity and mechanical properties. These results indicate that the prepared hybrid electrospun mats can be considered as an intelligent case for further studies in the field of TE.