Nanofibers scaffolds of co-doped Bi/Sr-hydroxyapatite encapsulated into polycaprolactone for biomedical applications

Abstract The development of a biomaterial that matches with wound dressing requirements is highly demand for the health care system. For this purpose, co-ionic dopants of bismuth (Bi3+) and strontium (Sr2+) into hydroxyapatite (HAP) have been encapsulated into electrospun nanofibers of polycaprolactone (PCL). The obtained nanofibrous scaffolds have been investigated using XRD and FESEM. It was shown that nanofibers were formed as cross-linked filaments with diameters 0.74 and 0.35 μm for the lowest and the highest doped Bi3+, respectively. The roughness average started from 91.8 to 114.8 nm for the lowest and the highest additional Bi3+ ions. The surface contact angle has been measured and exhibited a significant decrease from 118.2° to 61.9° upon the contribution of Bi3+ ions. Furthermore, the antibacterial activity examination revealed that the inhibition zone enlarged upon the ionic dopant contribution from no effect to 15.8 ± 1.2 and 14.1 ± 1.5 mm against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, receptively. Moreover, the human fibroblast cell line's growth was observed through the nanofibers and indicated that cells preferred to proliferate and adhered strongly towards the scaffolds.