Fibrillated cellulose based electrospunmats for bone regeneration: preparation, characterizationand evolution study

Aim: To develop and characterize fibrillated cellulose-polylactide (PLA) electrospun mats with enhanced mechanical and thermal properties for potential applications in bone tissue engineering.Materials and Methods: Fibrillated cellulose derived from wood pulp was blended with a PLA solution prepared using dichloromethane (DCM) and dimethylformamide (DMF) as solvents, with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as a spinning aid. The mixture was electrospun to produce nanofibrous mats. The mats were analyzed using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to identify chemical composition, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) to study thermal behavior, high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM) for morphological assessment, and mechanical testing to evaluate tensile strength and elongation at break.Results: FTIR confirmed the successful integration of fibrillated cellulose into the PLA matrix. TGA revealed improved thermal stability, with increased char residue formation due to the cellulose content. HRSEM images displayed a uniform fibrous network with no significant defects, indicating effective electrospinning. Mechanical testing showed that the inclusion of fibrillated cellulose increased tensile strength to 36.24 ± 1.11 MPa and elongation at break to 31.14 ± 0.51%, compared to control PLA mats.Conclusion: The integration of fibrillated cellulose into PLA enhanced the mechanical and thermal properties of electrospun mats, making them promising candidates for scaffolds in bone tissue engineering applications. Further biological evaluations are recommended to confirm their suitability for clinical use.