Fabrication of durable high performance hybrid nanofiber scaffolds for bone tissue regeneration using a novel, simple in situ deposition approach of polyvinyl alcohol on electrospun nylon 6 nanofibers

This article reports a novel, simple in situ process for the deposition of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) thin layer onto post-electrospun nylon 6 (N6) nanofibers using a hydrotherthal approach. The process was successfully used for the development of hybrid nanofiber scaffolds with improved surface hydrophilicity designed specifically for bone tissue regeneration (BTR). The results confirmed that the presence of PVA during the hydrothermal process stimulates the crystalline conformation of N6. Compared to the pristine N6 mat, pre-osteoblast MC3T3-E1 cells showed much better attachment. Our results suggest that the newly developed hybrid scaffolds could be very useful for promoting BTR. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.