Poly(hydroxyalkanoate)s meet benign solvents for electrospinning

Electrospinning (ES) technique allows the fabrication of nano/microfibers, relevant for tissue engineering (TE) applications. Several researches have been devoted to the use of benign solvents for ES, and in this work their use in combination with poly(hydroxyalkanoate)s (PHAs) is reported. Among PHAs, poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB), poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) and their blend have been selected for their suitability for TE applications. The morphological and chemical properties of the electrospun mats, their degradation behaviour and cytocompatibility have been investigated, obtaining promising results and comparable properties with mats obtained using standard (not benign) solvents. Moreover, the fabrication of composite fibers incorporating bioactive glass (BG) particles is also reported as proof of concept