Tissue engineering methods and regenerative medicine innovations rely on scaffold materials and their fabrication methods [1]. Scaffolds should be biocompatible, biodegradable, and possess mechanical properties suitable for tissue engineering while mimicking the natural tissue structure [2]. This study explores combining polycaprolactone (PCL) with MXenes for regenerative medicine. While PCL is a biodegradable polyester with biomedical potential, its low stiffness, conductivity, cell affinity, and hydrophobicity limit its applications. MXenes, 2D nanomaterials with antibacterial, conductive, and hydrophilic properties, offer a solution. However, further research is needed to evaluate their biocompatibility, biodegradability, and cytotoxicity.
Conventional electrospinning was performed using a positively charged needle electrode (25 kV) at 180 mm distance, and a 12 mL/h feed rate in a controlled atmospheric chamber. MXenes were synthesized via a minimally intensive layer delamination method using a Ti₃AlC₂ MAX-phase precursor, selectively etched within situ-formed hydrofluoric acid, delaminated in LiCl solution, and centrifuged to obtain single-layer flakes. PCL membranes (Ø 5 mm) were treated with NaOH to enhance hydrophilicity, then immersed in an MXene colloid, sonicated, and left for 3 hours to immobilize MXene, with the process repeated up to four times for varying layer thicknesses. HUVEC cells were seeded on PCL-MXene scaffolds, cell viability and proliferation were evaluated.
The results will allow us to evaluate the biocompatibility of PCL-Mxene scaffolds with HUVECs for further applications in regenerative medicine. This research has received funding from the Research Council of Lithuania post-doc project No. S-PD-24-41