Evaluation of polycaprolactone scaffolds containing a crude Curcuma comosa extract for potential use as cartilage scaffolds

Abstract

Polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffolds were fabricated using the solvent casting and particulate leaching techniques, using sodium chloride (NaCl) particles ranging in size from 425 to 450 µm, as the porogen. Curcuma comosa extract (CC) utilized in this study has anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, anti-atherosclerotic, and estrogenic properties that benefit both skin and bone tissues. PCL scaffolds were immersed in a CC solution to create CC-loaded scaffolds. The PCL to NaCl weight ratios varied between 1:8, 1:10, and 1:12, while the concentration of CC was either 0.5 or 1.0 mg/mL. Based on the findings, the pore diameters of the neat and CC-loaded PCL scaffolds ranged from 280 to 332 µm. Increasing NaCl content resulted in the scaffolds being more porous, thus having low compressive moduli and releasing high amounts of CC. Both water retention and weight loss of the scaffolds increased with an increasing submersion time in a buffer solution. These scaffolds released no substances that were detrimental to both mouse fibroblast (NCTC clone 929) and mouse osteoblast (MC3T3-E1) cells. While the presence of CC in the PCL scaffolds showed no significant effect on the attachment of MC3T3-E1 cells, it significantly supported their proliferation. All these suggested that the CC-loaded PCL scaffolds could be used as cartilage scaffolding materials.