Poly(lactic acid) / Cellulose Nanocrystals (PLA / CNs) were simultaneously electrospun to fabricate a novel renewable and biocompatible nanocomposite as potential scaffold for bone tissue engineering. CNs were successfully incorporated into the PLA fibers to reinforce the electrospun fiber mat. Thermal, chemical and mechanical analyses were performed to characterize and determine the properties of the scaffold fabricated. Highly porous fibers with fibers diameters in the range of 500-1000 nm were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Crystallinity of the electrospun nanocomposite was studied by Differential Scanning Calorimetry. Adipose-derived human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) were used to study the cytocompatibility of the nanocomposite scaffold. Life/dead cell assay was performed to determine cell viability of the scaffolds. After one week of cell culture, confocal microscopy indicated that the cells grown on the PLA / CNs nanocomposite were confluent and very well aligned along the fibers while cells cultured on pure PLA fibers were not as confluent as in the developed nanocomposite. This project has demonstrated the feasibility of the fabricated PLA/CNs nanocomposite as a potential scaffold for bone tissue engineering.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:NCSU/oai:NCSU:etd-04012010-153822 |
| Date | 29 April 2010 |
| Creators | Ramirez, Magaly Alexandra |
| Contributors | Lucian Lucia, Elizabeth Loboa, Orlando Rojas |
| Publisher | NCSU |
| Source Sets | North Carolina State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/theses/available/etd-04012010-153822/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dis sertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to NC State University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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