Contact
    Start Publications Novel Ultrathin Films Based on a Blend of PEG-b-PCL and PLLA ...
    ←  Publication Finder
    Attension

    Novel Ultrathin Films Based on a Blend of PEG-b-PCL and PLLA and Doped with ZnO Nanoparticles

    Year: 2020

    Journal: ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, Volume 12, MAY 13, page 21398–21410

    Authors: Vannozzi, Lorenzo; Gouveia, Pedro; Pingue, Pasqualantonio; Canale, Claudio; Ricotti, Leonardo

    Organizations: European CommissionEuropean CommissionEuropean Commission Joint Research Centre [814413]

    Keywords: nanocomposite; thin film; piezoelectric scaffold; zinc oxide; regenerative medicine

    In this paper, a novel nanofilm type is proposed based on a blend of poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(epsilon-caprolactone) methyl ether (PEG-b-PCL) and poly(L-lactic acid), doped with zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) at different concentrations (0.1, 1, and 10 mg/mL). All nanofilm types were featured by a thickness value of similar to 500 nm. Increasing ZnO NP concentrations implied larger roughness values (similar to 22 nm for the bare nanofilm and similar to 67 nm for the films with 10 mg/mL of NPs), larger piezoelectricity (average d(33) coefficient for the film up to similar to 1.98 pm/V), and elastic modulus: the nanofilms doped with 1 and 10 mg/mL of NPs were much stiffer than the nondoped controls and nanofilms doped with 0.1 mg/mL of NPs. The ZnO NP content was also directly proportional to the material melting point and crystallinity and inversely proportional to the material degradation rate, thus highlighting the stabilization role of ZnO particles. In vitro tests were carried out with cells of the musculoskeletal apparatus (fibroblasts, osteoblasts, chondrocytes, and myoblasts). All cell types showed good adhesion and viability on all substrate formulations. Interestingly, a higher content of ZnO NPs in the matrix demonstrated higher bioactivity, boosting the metabolic activity of fibroblasts, myoblasts, and chondrocytes and enhancing the osteogenic and myogenic differentiation. These findings demonstrated the potential of these nanocomposite matrices for regenerative medicine applications, such as tissue engineering.
    View publication