The Effect of Ozone Treatment on the Physicochemical Properties and Biocompatibility of Electrospun Poly(ε)caprolactone Scaffolds

Ozonation has been proved as a viable surface modification technique providing certain properties to the scaffolds that are essential in tissue engineering. However, the ozone (O-3) treatment of PCL scaffolds in aqueous environments has not yet been presented. O-3 treatment performed in aqueous environments is more effective compared with traditional, executed in ambient air treatment due to more abundant production of hydroxyl radicals (center dot OH) within the O-3 reaction with water molecules. During interaction with center dot OH, the scaffold acquires functional groups which improve wettability properties and encapsulate growth factors. In this study, a poly(epsilon)caprolactone (PCL) scaffold was fabricated using solution electrospinning and was subsequently ozonated in a water reactor. The O-3 treatment resulted in the expected occurrence of oxygen-containing functional groups, which improved scaffold wettability by almost 27% and enhanced cell proliferation for up to 14 days. The PCL scaffold was able to withhold 120 min of O-3 treatment, maintaining fibrous morphology and mechanical properties.