Mechanical properties and biodegradability of electrospun methylcellulose-polyvinylalcohol single-layered nanofibers compared to polycaprolactone/methylcellulose-polyvinylalcohol/polycaprolactone multilayered nanofibers

The work aimed to compare the mechanical properties and biodegradation behavior of fabricated single-layered nanofibers (S-NFs) containing a blend of methylcellulose (MC) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and multilayered nanofibers (M-NFs) containing polycaprolactone (PCL) as an upper and lower layer along with MC-PVA as a middle layer (PCL/MC-PVA/PCL). The NFs in the form of mats were fabricated using the electrospinning technique. Morphology and fiber diameter was checked by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). To investigate the degradation behavior, an in-vitro biodegradation rate was performed in phosphate buffer solution (PBS), pH 7.4, and results were compared using SEM. Further in-vivo biodegradation rate was conducted using Wistar rats to observe the fiber degradation. A tensile study was conducted to check the mechanical properties of NFs samples. The SEM results showed the uniform bead-free fibers of fabricated NFs samples. Maximum tensile strength of M-NFs up to 7.34 Mpa was obtained compared to S-NFs. Further, in-vitro and in-vivo biodegradation rate study reveals that degradation of S-NFs was faster compared to M-NFs.