Improvement of the cytocompatibility of electrospun poly[(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-(R)-3-hydroxyvalerate] mats by Ecoflex.

Poly[(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-(R)-3-hydroxyvalerate] (PHBV) is a nature-derived polyester with potential application in tissue engineering scaffolds. However, PHBV is associated with disadvantages including high brittleness, slow degradation, high hydrophobicity, and unsatisfactory biocompatibility. In this study, we sought to improve the properties of PHBV by blending it with Ecoflex, a synthetic biopolyester with a high flexibility, fast degradation, and comparatively higher hydrophilicity. PHBV was codissolved with Ecoflex in dichloromethane at different mass ratios (PHBV/Ecoflex: 100/0, 70/30, 50/50, and 30/70) and electrospun into mats. Compared with the pure PHBV mat, the Ecoflex-containing mats showed decreased contact angles with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), accelerated weight loss in PBS, and increased strain at break with increasing Ecoflex mass ratios. In vitro cell culture also showed significantly improved adhesion and proliferation of human bone marrow stroma cells with the introduction of Ecoflex. Blending PHBV with Ecoflex is a simple and effective method to improve the chemical, mechanical, and biological properties of PHBV simultaneously and thereby to expedite its application in tissue engineering. To our knowledge, this is the first report showing the biocompatibility of Ecoflex-containing materials with human cells.