Synthesis, Characterization, and Electrospinning of Calcium-Containing Polyurethane Urea

Abstract

Calcium-containing segmented polyurethane urea was synthesized using a calcium salt of p-aminobenzoic acid, polytetramethylene glycol, and 4,4-methylene bis(cyclohexyl isocyanate) and thereafter fabricated into three-dimensional scaffolds for the use in biomedical applications. Biocompatibility evaluation of the polymer showed that this newly developed metal-containing polyurethane urea demonstrated good cytocompatibility and hemocompatibility. The fabricating ability of the metal-containing polymer was studied by the electrospinning process. The effect of various parameters such as polymer concentration, applied voltage, and flow rate on the electrospinning process, morphology, and diameter of the resultant fibers was investigated. The findings indicate that increasing the concentration and flow rate of the solution increases the fiber diameter. It was also demonstrated that increasing the applied voltage decreases the fiber diameter. Mechanical property evaluation of the scaffolds showed that the strength of the scaffold depends on both the diameter and morphology of the fibers. As the fiber diameter increases from 1.6 to 3.02 m, the tensile strength enhanced from 3 to 7MPa.