Obtaining bioabsorable scaffolds from PLGA and IR blend with the addition of hydroxyapatite

The aim of this paper is the obtainment of bioactive scaffolds from poly (lactic acid-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) and polyisoprene (IR) polymer blends with different additions of hydroxyapatite (HAp) as an alternative for tissue engineering. For the preparation of the polymer solutions, the PLGA/IR blend and the HAp were dissolved in chloroform. Subsequently, the scaffold was processed by electrospinning, varying the distance between the syringe and the collector. Scaffolds chemical and phase composition were characterized by zeta potential, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to evaluate the morphology and for the cytotoxic behavior the cellular viability analysis methodology was used. The zeta potential value of the HAp was -22 mV and the FTIR and XRD were consistent with the literature. The SEM images allowed the analysis of the mean size and standard deviation of the obtained fibers, demonstrating a significant difference among the samples. The results showed the great influence of the distance between the collector and the tip of the syringe and the blend/HAp ratio, and the scaffold obtained with the largest collector/syringe distance and the highest HAp/blend ratio showed fibers with a smaller mean size and greater homogeneity and low cellular cytotoxicity.