Microstructure, Mechanical, and In Vitro Performance of a Novel Combination of Layered Double Hydroxides and Polycaprolactone Electrospun/3D Printed Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Engineering

Currently, material synthesis and processing developments allow the design of increasingly advanced scaffolds for bone tissue engineering. The purpose of this study is to fabricate hybrid scaffolds by embedding electrospun polycaprolactone (PCL) or layered double hydroxides (LDH)/PCL nanofiber mats into 3D printed circular PCL grids with 400 µm strands using a PCL solution as glue. Structural analysis revealed that LDH increased surface roughness in PCL mats in addition to reducing fiber diameter. FESEM images showed that the size of the 3D printed strands and pores was about the same as in the original design, and nanofiber mats were flawlessly placed between the 3D printed grids. The porosity of the scaffolds was determined through BET analysis. Young’s modulus of the scaffolds was determined using a compressive test conducted in dry and wet conditions. Hybrid scaffolds with LDH/PCL nanofiber mats showed significantly higher Young’s modulus than 3D printed grids and hybrid scaffolds with PCL nanofiber mats ( P