Effect of Nanoscale-ZnO on the Mechanical Property and Biocompatibility of Electrospun Poly(L-lactide) Acid/Nanoscale-ZnO Mats

Poly(L-lactide) acid (PLLA) was mixed with different content of nanoscale-ZnO (N-ZnO) and spun into nonwoven mats by electrospinning, the effects of the blending ratio of N-ZnO on mats morphology and mechanical properties were investigated. The prepared mats were characterized with infrared spectrometry (IR), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area, the morphology and tensile test were investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and electronic universal testing machine, respectively. The quantity of N-ZnO contained in mats was determinated by Na2 EDTA titration method, then the N-ZnO loading coefficient (%, NL) could be figured out. Infrared spectrometry showed that the electrospun PLLA/N-ZnO mats were prepared successfully. When the concentration of N-ZnO contained in the mats increased from 0 to 2% (w/v), the curves of stress-strain indicated that the elastic modulus of mats ranged among 5.16 to 15.59 MPa. In addition, the electrospun PLLA/N-ZnO exhibited lower cell proliferation for UE7T-13 cells than electrospun PLLA mats and control. The results presented that the N-ZnO added in the mats enhanced the toughness of PLLA/ZnO mats to some extent, though the biocompatibility of blends was not good.