Fabrication and characterization of a multilayered PVA/alginate-diopside electrospun scaffold for tissue engineering applications.

Introduction: One of the most effective methods for reproducing soft tissue is to apply multilayer soft tissue using the electrospinning technique, creating suitable conditions for wound healing. Methods: In this study, a new bio-nanocomposite composition consisting of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), alginate (ALG), and diopside nanoparticles with different weight percentages was used, employing the electrospun technique to create a homogenized fiber network. The PVA structure has a simple chemical structure with hydroxyl groups attached to the main chain, as not all acetate groups can be replaced with hydroxyl groups. To study the mechanical and biological properties of the samples, the tensile strength and biodegradation were investigated. Determination of fundamental groups, morphology, and phase analysis was performed using a Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), a scanning electron microscope (SEM), and an X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique. Also, the degree of hydrophilicity was measured in the water solution using a CCD camera. At all weight percentages, PVA is evenly distributed in the polymer medium. The nanofiber scaffolds prepared by the electrospinning method show porosity above 58 %. Results: In general, due to the prolonged degradation of PVA and ALG, the study after three weeks reveals that significant weight changes have occurred in the samples containing the maximum amount of diopside nanoparticles. The FTIR analysis shows that the peaks corresponding to the C[bond, double bond]O, CH, and OH bonds remained unchanged. As a result, the absence of chemical interaction between PVA is proven. Tensile strength test showed that an increase in diopside nanoparticles disrupts the network chain and may lead to a decrease in the elastic modulus of the samples. The contact angle of the fiber arrangement was reduced from 151° to 121°, encompassing the lowest and highest amounts of diopside nanoparticles, respectively. According to the observations, the PVA nanocomposite scaffolds with 4 wt% diopside nanoparticles are suitable for soft texture engineering. Conclusions: Nanocomposite scaffolds containing 4 wt% diopside nanoparticles have suitable conditions for cellular testing due to their mechanical, physical, and morphological properties.