3D Electrohydrodynamic Printing of Highly Aligned Dual-Core Graphene Composite Matrices

Date
2019-07-09
Authors
Ahmad, Zeeshan
Wang, Baolin
Chen, Xing
Huang, Jie
Chang, Ming-Wei
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
ISSN
0008-6223
Volume Title
Publisher
Elsevier
Peer reviewed
Yes
Abstract
The aim of this study was to develop an EHD printing method to fabricate graphene-loaded polycaprolactone (PCL)/polyethylene oxide (PEO) dual-core matrices. Graphene was incorporated in shell PCL components, while gelatin and dopamine hydrochloride (DAH) were encapsulated in two PEO cores to enhance biocompatibility of graphene-loaded matrices. Furthermore, the effect of PEO concentration on dual-core fiber formation was evaluated. The influence of process parameters (applied voltage, inner flow rate, outer flow rate and X-Y-Z collector stage speed) on dual-core fiber morphology was evaluated. Our findings show graphene-loaded structures to possess two inner cores and increasing graphene content yields matrices with smoother surfaces, causing a slight reduction in their contact angle behavior. Furthermore, the addition of graphene to matrices results in reduced elasticity. DAH release from matrices comprising various graphene concentrations showed no significant difference and drug release mechanism was diffusion based. In vitro biological tests indicate resulting graphene-loaded dual-core matrices exhibit good biocompatibility and also improve PC12 cell migration. The findings suggest matrices to have potential applications in nerve restoration and regeneration.
Description
The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.
Keywords
Citation
Wang, B. et al. (2019) 3D Electrohydrodynamic Printing of Highly Aligned Dual-Core Graphene Composite Matrices. Carbon, 153, pp. 285-297
Research Institute
Leicester Institute for Pharmaceutical Innovation - From Molecules to Practice (LIPI)