Electrospun aligned ultrafine fibers of poly( lactide-coglycolide)( PLGA) can be used to construct biomimetic scaffolds for engineering those structurally anisotropic and dense tissues( e. g.,tendon,ligament,etc.). But the acidic degradation products of the PLGA could result in p H decrease in the vicinity of the scaffolds,which may give rise to biocompatibility concerns. To address the noted problem, this study was designed to evaluate the p Hcompensation capacity of using Lysine( Lys) —a kind of basic amino acid on the acidic degradation products of PLGA. Ultrafine PLGA( 50∶ 50) fibers with 0,10%,20%,and 30% by weight of Lys loadings were prepared by a stable jet electrospinning( SJES)approach. The morphology,structure,and mechanical properties of the electrospun aligned fibrous mats of Lys-incorporated PLGA( 50∶50) were characterized by scanning electron microscope( SEM),Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy( FTIR),and tensile testing,respectively. Thereafter,the fibrous PLGA( 50 ∶50) scaffolds were subjected to degradation by being immersed in phosphate buffered saline( PBS,p H 6. 86) solution at 37 ℃ for 5weeks. Our results show that the formed Lys / PLGA composite ultrafine fibers have a well-aligned and uniform morphology with a fineness of ca. 1 #m in diameter. Introduction of Lys led to increased mechanical performance; that is,when the Lys loading is less than 30%,tensile strength and Young’s modulus of the aligned Lys / PLGA fibers reached up to the impressive values of 84. 5 MPa and 2. 4 GPa,respectively. Degradation results show that the p H of the PLGA group fell to 5. 6 in 5 weeks while the p H of the Lys /PLGA groups with 10%,20%, and 30% of Lys loadings was maintained at 6. 3, 6. 5 and 6. 7, respectively. This work demonstrated that incorporation of Lys into electrospun PLGA fibers could be an effective approach in mediating the p H decrease caused by the acidic degradation products of the PLGA.
Electrospun aligned ultrafine fibers of poly( lactide-coglycolide)( PLGA) can be used to construct biomimetic scaffolds for engineering those structurally anisotropic and dense tissues( e. g.,tendon,ligament,etc.). But the acidic degradation products of the PLGA could result in p H decrease in the vicinity of the scaffolds,which may give rise to biocompatibility concerns. To address the noted problem, this study was designed to evaluate the p Hcompensation capacity of using Lysine( Lys) —a kind of basic amino acid on the acidic degradation products of PLGA. Ultrafine PLGA( 50∶ 50) fibers with 0,10%,20%,and 30% by weight of Lys loadings were prepared by a stable jet electrospinning( SJES)approach. The morphology,structure,and mechanical properties of the electrospun aligned fibrous mats of Lys-incorporated PLGA( 50∶50) were characterized by scanning electron microscope( SEM),Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy( FTIR),and tensile testing,respectively. Thereafter,the fibrous PLGA( 50 ∶50) scaffolds were subjected to degradation by being immersed in phosphate buffered saline( PBS,p H 6. 86) solution at 37 ℃ for 5weeks. Our results show that the formed Lys / PLGA composite ultrafine fibers have a well-aligned and uniform morphology with a fineness of ca. 1 #m in diameter. Introduction of Lys led to increased mechanical performance; that is,when the Lys loading is less than 30%,tensile strength and Young's modulus of the aligned Lys / PLGA fibers reached up to the impressive values of 84. 5 MPa and 2. 4 GPa,respectively. Degradation results show that the p H of the PLGA group fell to 5. 6 in 5 weeks while the p H of the Lys /PLGA groups with 10%,20%, and 30% of Lys loadings was maintained at 6. 3, 6. 5 and 6. 7, respectively. This work demonstrated that incorporation of Lys into electrospun PLGA fibers could be an effective approach in mediating the p H decrease caused by the acidic degradation products of the PLGA.