Osteoconductive And Antibacterial Poly(Lactic Acid) Fibrous Membranes Impregnated With Biobased Nanocarbons For Biodegradable Bone Regenerative Scaffolds

Carbonaceous nanostructures featuring unique structural characteristics and high cytocompatibility offer a wealth of possibilities to impart enhancements of mechanical properties and biological activities for osteogenic tissue scaffolds. Here, we unveil the fabrication of osteoconductive and antibacterial porous poly(lactic acid) (PLA) membranes by direct electrospinning of microfibers impregnated with coffee-ground-derived quantum dots (QDs). It enabled a straightforward pathway to regulate the diameter and its distribution for the electrospun PLA microfibers, as well as the improved hydrophilicity. The QDs exhibited high affinity to the PLA matrix, permitting remarkable promotion of tensile strength and elastic modulus for the QD-modified PLA membranes while maintaining comparable extensibility. More importantly, osteoblast adhesion and stretching on the electrospun membranes were significantly enhanced with the existence of QDs, as exemplified by the nearly 1.8-fold increase in cell viability cultured onto the composite membrane loaded with 1.5% QDs compared to that of pure PLA. This was accompanied by rapid biomimetic mineralization and uniform apatite formation in an osteofriendly manner. Unexpectedly, immediate and broad-spectrum antibacterial performance was achieved for the composite membranes, likely arising from the synergistic effects of QD-imparted membrane stress and oxidative stress. The unusual combination of mechanical, biomineralization, biological, and antibacterial performances makes the biodegradable membrane scaffolds promising for guided bone/tissue regeneration therapy.