Electrospun Carboxymethylcellulose as a Scaffold for Biomedical Applications

Abstract Electrospinning of pure carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) and its derivatives for biomedical applications is attractive due to their interesting biology and biomimetic properties. However, the main challenges in electrospinning pure CMC are strong electrostatic repulsions and its highly viscous nature. In this research, electrospun membranes consisting of grafted CMC-polyethylene glycol (CMC-PEG) and polycaprolactone (PCL) were successfully fabricated using emulsion electrospinning. Membranes with a PCL:CMC-PEG ratio of 80:20 formed uniform fiber with an average diameter of 930.2 ± 31.0 nm. Furthermore, PCL/CMC-PEG membranes demonstrated excellent mechanical properties suitable for use as scaffolds for soft tissue repair and skin wound healing. Water contact angle analysis showed that the incorporation of grafted CMC-PEG improved the membrane wettability. Electrospun membranes with a PCL: CMC-PEG ratio of 80:20 exhibited the highest in vitro degradation, with 82.0 ± 8.7% weight loss over 10 weeks of incubation. In vitro studies confirmed the non-cytotoxic properties of PCL:CMC-PEG (80:20) membranes when tested with normal human dermal fibroblast (NHDF) cells. Morphological analysis further confirmed the attachment of NHDF cells followed by cell proliferation and migration. These membranes demonstrated optimal mechanical properties, hydrophilicity, and biocompatibility, making them promising tissue scaffolds for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications. Graphical Abstract