Silica nanoparticles-incorporated carbon nanofibers as bioactive biomaterial for bone tissue engineering

Electrospun carbon nanofibers (ECNFs) have attractive capacity in the various fields of tissue engineering. The ECNFs are electro-conductive, biocompatible and capable to mimic extracellular matrix (ECM). In this study, the different ECNFs/silica nanoparticles (ECNFs/SNPs) composites were fabricated via electrospinning method and thermal treatments. This study evaluated the effect of SNPs incorporation in the electrical conductivity, wettability and bioactivity of ECNFs. The incorporation of SNPs in the ECNFs increase the hydrophilicity of these materials but decrease the electrical conductivity of them. Moreover, the biological activity of the ECNFs such as cell attachment, viability and proliferation rate improved through the incorporation of SNPs. The ECNFs/SNPs composite show increased MG-63 proliferation rate, which is owing to the strong osteoactive behavior of this composite. The present study illustrated that ECNFs/SNPs nanocomposites exhibited a suitable osteoactivity, due to the robust synergistic effect of the silica nanoparticles. [Display omitted] •Silica nanoparticles were added to the PAN polymer and electrospinning, stabilization and carbonization were performed.•The characterizations of the silica NPs indicate that the furnace process did not affect the structure of these nanoparticles.•The hydrophilicity of Scaffolds is improved by adding silica NPs.•Cellular proliferation and adhesion demonstrate the high suitability of these scaffolds for bone tissue engineering.