Recent Progress in PLA Nanofiber Manufacturing: Synthesis, Processing Strategies, and Functional Applications

Abstract

Tissue engineering combines life sciences and engineering principles to develop, maintain, or restore damaged human tissue functions. A crucial element is the synthesis of tissue scaffolds using biodegradable electrospun nanofibers, which are implanted in defective tissue areas. Polycaprolactone (PCL) was synthesized via microwave-assisted polycondensation—a rapid and efficient method enabling polycondensation, free and controlled radical Polymerisation, and ring-opening polymerization. Microwave irradiation is increasingly used as a heating source for polymerization in biomedical implant fabrication, including skin, bone, and dental repairs. PCL characterization was conducted using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), and X-ray Diffraction (XRD). Additionally, polylactic acid (PLA) nanofabrication was performed using electrospinning to create scaffolds for biomedical applications. Scaffolds serve key functions such as enabling cell attachment and migration, delivering and retaining cells and biochemical factors, facilitating nutrient diffusion, and influencing cell behaviour mechanically and biologically. This work provides an overview of tissue engineering fundamentals, novel synthesis technologies, biodegradable polymer properties, and their applications, including melt spinning and electrospinning techniques with SEM-based morphological analysis of PLA scaffolds.

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