Effects of Multi-Wall carbon Nano-Tubes (MWNTs) on structural and mechanical properties of electrospun poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) scaffold for tissue engineering applications

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of Multi-Walled Carbon Nano-Tubes (MWNTs) on the structural and mechanical properties of poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (P3HB) electrospun scaffolds. To achieve optimal properties of the electrospinning machine, P3HB polymer solutions were prepared at different concentrations and spinned in different electrospinning parameters. After optimization, MWNTs in different weight percentages (0.5%, 0.75%, 1%, and 1.25%) were added to the polymer solutions and electrospinned. The effects of MWNTs on the structure of fibers were investigated using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) techniques. The addition of MWNTs increased the average fiber diameter from 210 (neat P3HB) to 700 nm at 1.25% MWNTs. In addition, SEM photomicrographs and the MATLAB software program showed an increase in porosity from 81% to 84% in the presence of MWNTs. Tensile strength of P3HB/MWNTs composites revealed 158% improvement over pure P3HB scaffold. According to mechanical and structural properties, the best amount of MWNTs was 0.5 wt%. Therefore, MWNTs with low percentages can significantly improve the mechanical properties of pure P3HB scaffold, so that they can become favorable mechanically for tissue engineering applications. (C) 2016 Sharif University of Technology. All rights reserved.