MICRO-NANOFIBERS OF POLY(LACTIC ACID) FABRICATED BY ELECTROSPINNING AND ENCAPSULATION OF 2-[(E)-4-(DIMETHYLAMINE)BENZYLIDENE]INDAN-1-ONE

Abstract

In this work the encapsulation of a chalcone analogue (2-[(E)-4-(dimethylamine)benzylidene]indan-1-one) in micro-nanofibers of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is presented. The purpose is to investigate the development of potential biomaterials or scaffolds for tissue engineering. This chalcone analogue (CHAL) was synthesized by Claisen-Schmidt condensation in basic medium and was characterized by FT-IR and NMR spectroscopy. The biocompatibility analysis of CHAL with human erythrocytes indicated that this compound can be considered non-hemolytic up to a concentration of 500 µM. The fabrication of PLA micro-nanofibers (loaded with CHAL) was carried out using the electrospinning technique. The optimal conditions of the electrospinning process were: voltage of 15 kV, tip-collector distance of 13 cm, concentration of polymer solutions of 12.5 % w/V at 23 °C. The morphological characterization of the fibers was realized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Fibers loaded with CHAL at concentrations of 10, 20 and 50 µg/mg presented a representative size distribution in the micrometric scale at 5-9 µm, while PLA microfibers were mostly in the 3-5 µm range. It was demonstrated that the encapsulation of CHAL induces a morphological modification on the PLA fibers; even, the formation of drops inside the scaffolds was observed. As well, we proved by SEM the formation of nanofibers with diameter sizes smaller than 200 nm and an appreciable surface roughness. These results are interesting to think about the biomimetization of extracellular matrix (EM) for tissue engineering. Finally, a high percentage of encapsulation yield of CHAL (>95 %) was verified by visible UV spectrophotometry, and the fluorescent character of the structures loaded with this chalcone analogue was evidenced.