Bone tissue engineering via application of a PCL/Gelatin/Nanoclay/Hesperetin 3D nanocomposite scaffold

Presence of a structure the same as extracellular matrix (ECM) is necessary for cells to improve healing in injured bone. For this reason, discovering appropriate materials and fabrication methods for making this structure called scaffold is a challenge in tissue engineering. In this study, the 3-D scaffold was made of Polycaprolactone/Gelatin/Nanoclay (PCL/Gel/NC) and various dosages of Hesperetin (Hes) were loaded by a combination of electrospinning and thermally-induced phase separation (TIPS) methods. Different experiments like evaluation of surface microstructure, porosity, compressive strength, water contact angle, degradation rate, releasing profile, hemolysis, and cell proliferation were done to assess attributes of fabricated scaffolds. For in vivo evaluation, the calvaria defect model in rats was used and its result was evaluated by histological analysis. Based on the results, the porosity of scaffolds was in the range of 70–90%, and samples containing Hesperetin had lower compress strength and contact angle and higher degradation rate in comparison with samples without Hesperetin. The results showed that PCL/Gel/NC/Hes1% had better cell proliferation and bone healing than other studied groups. The results of this study can be considered for further research to evaluate the effect of Hesperetin in bone healing.