The ability to mimic the structure, chemical and physical properties and functionality of the natural extracellular matrix are key requirements for successful tissue engineering scaffolds. Nanofibrous polymeric tissue scaffolds were fabricated by electrospinning polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) encapsulated with varying concentrations of detonation nanodiamonds (DND). DND's have recently garnered attention as drug delivery vehicles.  The surface energy of the DND's makes it relatively straightforward to adsorb or covalently attach therapeutic molecules.  In our study, we are encapsulating the DND's in PVA nanofibers to mediate the release of therapeutics.  Earlier work showed that drugs encapsulated into the nanofibers alone exhibited a burst release.  It is anticipated that the DND's will help us achieve a more sustained release. Thus, our preliminary studies seek to develop and characterize composite polyvinyl alcohol and detonation nanodiamond composite fibers fabricated via electrospinning.

Morphological and biological characterization of PVA-nanodiamond electrospun nanofibers

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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