Fabrication of Poly(-caprolactone)-embedded Lignin-Chitosan Nanocomposite Porous Scaffolds from Pickering Emulsions

Poly-(& epsilon;-caprolactone)(PCL)-incorporated lignin-chitosanbiomass-basednanocomposite porous scaffolds have been effectively prepared by templatingoil-in-water Pickering high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs). PCLis dissolved in oil and chitosan and lignin nanoparticles originatein water. The continuous phase of the emulsions is gelled by cross-linkingof chitosan with genipin and then freeze-dried to obtain porous scaffolds.The resulting scaffolds display interconnected and tunable pore structures.An increase in PCL content increases the mechanical strength and greatlyreduces the water absorption capacity of the scaffolds. Scaffoldsloaded with the anti-bacterial drug enrofloxacin show a slow drugrelease profile, adjustable release rate, and favorable long-termanti-bacterial activity. Moreover, Pickering emulsion templates withsuitable viscosity are used as 3D printing inks to construct porousscaffolds with personalized geometry. The results imply that the simplicityand versatility of the technique of combining freeze-drying with PickeringHIPE templates is a promising approach to fabricate hydrophobic biopolymer-incorporatedbiomass-based nanocomposite porous scaffolds for biomedical applications.