Preparation, characterisation, and in vitro evaluation of electrically conducting poly(e(open)-caprolactone)-based nanocomposite scaffolds using PC12 cells

In the current study, we describe the synthesis, mate-rial characteristics, and cytocompatibility of conducting poly(E-caprolactone) (PCL)-based nano-composite films. Electri-cally conducting carbon nano-fillers (carbon nano-fiber (CNF),nano-graphite (NG), and liquid exfoliated graphite (G)) wereused to prepare porous film type scaffolds using modified sol-vent casting methods. The electrical conductivity of the nano-composite films was increased when carbon nano-fillers wereincorporated in the PCL matrix. CNF-based nano-compositefilms showed the highest increase in electrical conductivity.The presence of an ionic solution significantly improved theconductivity of some of the polymers, however at least 24 hwas required to absorb the simulated ion solutions. CNF-basednano-composite films were found to have good thermo-mechanical properties compared to other conducting polymerfilms due to better dispersion and alignment in the criticaldirection. Increased nano-filler content increased the crystalli-sation temperature. Analysis of cell viability revealed noincrease in cell death on any of the polymers compared totissue culture plastic controls, or compared to PCL polymerwithout nano-composites. The scaffolds showed some varia-tion when tested for PC12 cell attachment and proliferation,however all the polymers supported PC12 attachment and dif-ferentiation in the absence of cell adhesion molecules. In gen-eral, CNF-based nano-composite films with highest electricalconductivity and moderate roughness showed highest cellattachment and proliferation. These polymers are promisingcandidates for use in neural applications in the area of bionicsand tissue engineering due to their unique properties.