Electrospun Naringin-Loaded Beaded Nanofiber with Controlled Release Property for Bone Tissue Engineering Applications

Naringin is one of the traditional Chinese medicine extracts that is effective for osteoporosis and helps bone regeneration. An electrospun nanofiber for drug delivery has been reported previously, however, it usually causes a drug burst release. Beaded nanofibers with special bead-on-string structures may help to control release properties. By changing the solution concentration before electrospinning, a beaded structure is acquired. With reductions in solution concentration, higher bead numbers and thinner fiber diameters are produced, as observed by scanning electron microscopy. The beaded nanofibers also have a faster degradation rate and a slower release rate. SEM and CLSM images show MC3T3-E1 cells that display excellent cell affinity on beaded and smooth electrospun membranes. In vitro studies show that all these materials provide sufficient superficial area for cell adhesion, proliferation and differentiation. This study suggests that beaded nanofibres encapsulating naringin with controlled and sustained release profiles could potentially be applied in bone tissue engineering.