Hydroxyapatite stabilized pickering emulsions of poly(ε-caprolactone) and their composite electrospun scaffolds

Electrospun fibrous scaffolds have advantageously being used in tissue engineering, however lack of functionalization during processing and use of organic solvents are two prime deterrents of the process. We report formation of hydroxyapatite (HA) functionalized poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) fibrous scaffolds via electrospinning of HA based Pickering emulsion. Role of HA as Pickering stabilizer for varying PCL concentration and water to oil volume ratio of emulsion was studied and emulsions were stabilized using HA in presence of a template polymer, poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA). Effect of formulation and process variants was assessed on uniformity and fineness of fibrous scaffolds. HA functionalized PCL fibrous scaffolds were evaluated for their osteoblast cell growth efficacy and the scaffolds were found to have significantly higher cell proliferation than scaffolds made with PCL alone. Development of fibrous scaffolds using Pickering emulsions provided a unique method to introduce inorganic functionalities in organic fibrous matrix without using any conventional emulsifier at reduced organic solvent content.