Fabrication of polycaprolactone/collagen scaffolds reinforced by graphene oxide for tissue engineering applications

•Combination of polycaprolactone and collagen were used to make scaffolds.•Graphene oxide particles were added to scaffolds in mixed and coating forms.•Elements other than C and O were seen in scaffolds in high amount of graphene oxide.•The lowest cell survival percentage was reported for graphene oxide-coated scaffolds.•Chemical reactions may occur at the scaffold surface in high amount of graphene oxide. This study aims to fabricate skin scaffolds using polycaprolactone and collagen; the prepared scaffolds were reinforced using graphene oxide nanoparticles in both coating and mixed forms. The microstructure study confirmed the presence of carbon and oxygen elements in the structure of the scaffolds. It was also shown that the scaffold with the highest amount of graphene oxide in the mixture is the most hydrophilic one. Inversely, the tensile test showed that a higher amount of graphene oxide in the scaffold weakens its mechanical integrity. Lastly, the scaffolds with a coating of graphene oxide exhibited much lower cell viability in comparison to the scaffolds with graphene oxide in their structure; higher content of graphene oxide showed higher cell survival.