Premium
Oriented Nanofibrous Polymer Scaffolds Containing Protein‐Loaded Porous Silicon Generated by Spray Nebulization
Author(s) -
Zuidema Jonathan M.,
Kumeria Tushar,
Kim Dokyoung,
Kang Jinyoung,
Wang Joanna,
Hollett Geoffrey,
Zhang Xuan,
Roberts David S.,
Chan Nicole,
Dowling Cari,
BlancoSuarez Elena,
Allen Nicola J.,
Tuszynski Mark H.,
Sailor Michael J.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
advanced materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.707
H-Index - 527
eISSN - 1521-4095
pISSN - 0935-9648
DOI - 10.1002/adma.201706785
Subject(s) - materials science , porosity , polymer , porous silicon , chemical engineering , nanotechnology , composite material , engineering
Oriented composite nanofibers consisting of porous silicon nanoparticles (pSiNPs) embedded in a polycaprolactone or poly(lactide‐ co ‐glycolide) matrix are prepared by spray nebulization from chloroform solutions using an airbrush. The nanofibers can be oriented by an appropriate positioning of the airbrush nozzle, and they can direct growth of neurites from rat dorsal root ganglion neurons. When loaded with the model protein lysozyme, the pSiNPs allow the generation of nanofiber scaffolds that carry and deliver the protein under physiologic conditions (phosphate‐buffered saline (PBS), at 37 °C) for up to 60 d, retaining 75% of the enzymatic activity over this time period. The mass loading of protein in the pSiNPs is 36%, and in the resulting polymer/pSiNP scaffolds it is 3.6%. The use of pSiNPs that display intrinsic photoluminescence (from the quantum‐confined Si nanostructure) allows the polymer/pSiNP composites to be definitively identified and tracked by time‐gated photoluminescence imaging. The remarkable ability of the pSiNPs to protect the protein payload from denaturation, both during processing and for the duration of the long‐term aqueous release study, establishes a model for the generation of biodegradable nanofiber scaffolds that can load and deliver sensitive biologics.