Enhancement of the biomineralization and cellular adhesivity of polycaprolactone-based hollow porous microspheres via dopamine bio-activation for tissue engineering applications

Poly(caprolactone) (PCL) is an attractive biocompatible and biodurable polymer for tissue engineering applications. However, it has limited bioactivity (biomineralization and cellular adhesivity sites).Therefore the aim of this study was to synthesize and characterize PCL-based hollow porous microspheres using a double emulsion-solvent evaporation technique (PVA–PCL–PEG) to improve the biomineralization and cellular adhesivity employing dopamine as a bioactivator. The effect of dopamine-coating on the surface morphology and porosity of the microspheres was evaluated in conjunction with biomineralization testing in simulated body fluids (pH 7.4; 37°C) over 45 days. The particle size of the microspheres decreased (370–40µm) with an increase in dopamine concentration. In addition, increased dopamine resulted in higher BET surface area values. The dopamine-coated microspheres exhibited higher biomineralization (Ca–P) as confirmed by chemical structure integrity analysis using FTIR. Ex vivo cell studies revealed superior cellular adhesivity of human dermal fibroblast cells onto the dopamine-coated microspheres. The combined results of this study suggested that the dopamine transformed and bioactivated microspheres may be suitable for advanced tissue engineering applications based on its newly synchronized bioactivation and biodegradation properties. [Display omitted] •Synthesis of PVA–PCL–PEG hollow porous microspheres with dopamine bio-activation.•The presence of dopamine reduced microsphere size and increased the surface area.•The bioactivity of the microspheres was synchronized with the biodegradation rate.•Dopamine transformed PCL to widen its scope of application in tissue engineering.