Marziyeh Ranjbar-Mohammadi

In this paper, Poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL)/Gelatin/Graphene composite nanofibers have been successfully fabricated by electrospinning. RSM methodology based on four-variables (voltage, feed rate, blend ratio, and graphene concentration) with three-levels was used to investigate the effect of these different parameters on the morphology of nanofibers. The morphology and functional groups analysis of nanofibers were investigated by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) respectively. SEM results of electrospun fibers showed that the average diameter of nanofibers decreased with increasing graphene concentration because of viscosity reduction as well as a rise in solution conductivity by graphene addition. Mechanical and contact angle properties of nanofibers with optimized electrospinning parameters were evaluated. Nanocomposite nanofibers showed higher tensile strength compared with neat PCL/Ge nanofibers. Contact angle results demonstrated that nanofibers embedded with graphene nanosheets are being more hydrophilic which this property resulted in increasing cell proliferation. According to these improved characteristics of PCL/Ge/Graphene nanofibers, they are a promising candidate for application in tissue engineering and drug delivery system.