Fabrication of poly(ε-caprolactone)/keratin nanofibrous mats as a potential scaffold for vascular tissue engineering.

The natural abundance of cell adhesion sequences, RGD (Arg-Gly-Asp) and LDV (Leu-Asp-Val) in the keratins make them suitable as biomaterials for tissue engineering applications. Herein, keratins were coelectrospun with poly(ε-caprolactone)(PCL) at the ratio of 9/1, 8/2, and 7/3 to afford nanofibrous mats. The resulting mats were surface-characterized by ATR-FTIR, SEM, WCA, and XPS. Cell attachment data showed that NIH 3T3 cells adhered more to the PCL/keratin nanofibrous mats than the pristine PCL mats. The MTT assay revealed that the PCL/keratin mats had improved cell viability. The blood clotting time test (APTT, PT, and TT) indicated the PCL/keratin mats exerted good blood compatibility. These mats would be a good candidate as a scaffold for vascular tissue engineering.