Nanofibrous elastic material based on the blend of hydrophobic poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and hydrophilic gelatin (Gel) reinforced with halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) was prepared by electrospinning process by respecting principles of "green chemistry" required for tissue engineering and drug delivery carriers. Three different kinds of HNTs with similar aspect ratio, but different length and inner diameter were examined to explain the effect of HNT concentration and geometry on a structure, morphology, chemical composition, mechanical properties and biocompatibility of nanostructured materials. Reinforcing effect of each type of HNTs has been confirmed up to 6 wt%. However, the highest improvement of mechanical properties was exhibited by addition just 0.5 wt% of HNTs. All HNT modified nanofibers have been confirmed as non-cytotoxic based on the interaction with mouse fibroblasts NIH-3T3 cells and therefore suitable for biomedical applications, e.g. as wound healing coverings with controlled drug delivery.

CEITEC Central European Institute of Technology Brno University of Technology Purkyňova 123 612 00 Brno Czech Republic

CEITEC Central European Institute of Technology Brno University of Technology Purkyňova 123 612 00 Brno Czech Republic; Institute of Materials Chemistry Brno University of Technology Purkyňova 464 118 612 00 Brno Czech Republic

Department of Physical Electronics Masaryk University Kotlářská 267 2 611 37 Brno Czech Republic

Institute of Polymer Materials Slovak University of Technology FCHPT Radlinského 9 812 37 Bratislava Slovakia

References provided by Crossref.org

Antibacterial Electrospun Polycaprolactone Nanofibers Reinforced by Halloysite Nanotubes for Tissue Engineering

Multifunctional Electrospun Nanofibers Based on Biopolymer Blends and Magnetic Tubular Halloysite for Medical Applications