Biomimetic mineralization of zein/calcium phosphate nanocomposite nanofibrous mats for bone tissue scaffolds

Abstract

Biomimetic mineralization process has been extended to bio-inspired bone-like calcium phosphate coatings on biodegradable polymer substrates. The objective of the current work is to synthesize zein/calcium phosphate nanocomposite nanofibrous scaffolds by the biomimetic mineralization process for bone tissue engineering. After incubation in 10 times concentrated simulated body fluid for 2 hours, the surface of electrospun zein nanofibers was uniformly coated with plate-like calcium phosphate nanosheets which attach to fibers and preserve the fibrous morphology of electrospun zein fibers. The crystalline phases in the composite are hydroxyapatite and dicalcium phosphate dihydrate. The biological in vitro cell culture with adipose-derived stem cells demonstrated that mineralized electrospun zein scaffolds can improve specific biological functions like adhesion, spread and proliferation resulting from the retained fibrous morphology and bioactive environment provided by calcium phosphate minerals. This study has demonstrated that mineralization of electrospun zein fibers provides a simple platform to fabricate a new biomimetic scaffold for bone tissue engineering, which can recapitulate both the morphology of the extracellular matrix and the composition of the bone.