Electrospun halloysite nanotube loaded polyhydroxybutyrate-starch fibers for cartilage tissue engineering

Articular cartilage is a connective load-bearing tissue with a low rate of regeneration due to slow metabolism. Fabricating tissue-like structure modified based on natural features can improve healing process. Fibrous scaffolds based on the composition of hydrophobic polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) and hydrophilic starch reinforced using halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) with appropriate physico-chemical and biological properties was produced via electrospinning technique for long-term applications like cartilage regeneration. Textural properties were analyzed through SEM imaging that showed incorporating HNTs up to 2 wt% decreased mean fiber diameter to 158 ± 48 nm with larger pore size and appropriate porosity percentage. Moreover, the tensile strength was improved up to 4.21 ± 0.31 MPa after HNTs incorporation support chondrocyte cell growth. Furthermore, incorporating HNTs induced surface hydrophilicity and in vitro degradation. The biological assays both MTT assay and cell attachment of chondrocyte cells on 2 wt% HNTs incorporated into PHB-starch fibers indicated that HNTs incorporation can support cell growth and attachment without any toxicity for biomedical applications. To conclude, the obtained results demonstrated PHB-starch/HNTs fibrous scaffold could be potential for further experimental studies for tissue engineering applications like cartilage.