Electrospun Polycaprolactone (PCL) Degradation: An In Vitro and In Vivo Study

Abstract

Polycaprolactone (PCL) is widely used in tissue engineering due to its interesting properties, namely biocompatibility, biodegradability, elastic nature, availability, cost efficacy, and the approval of health authorities such as the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The PCL degradation rate is not the most adequate for specific applications such as skin regeneration due to the hydrophobic nature of bulk PCL. However, PCL electrospun fiber meshes, due to their low diameters resulting in high surface area, are expected to exhibit a fast degradation rate. In this work, in vitro and in vivo degradation studies were performed over 90 days to evaluate the potential of electrospun PCL as a wound dressing. Enzymatic and hydrolytic degradation studies in vitro, performed in a static medium, demonstrated the influence of lipase, which promoted a rate of degradation of 97% for PCL meshes. In an in vivo scenario, the degradation was slower, although the samples were not rejected, and were well-integrated in the surrounding tissues inside the subcutaneous pockets specifically created.