Abstract:
Electrospun membranes of polycaprolactone are widely used for biomedical
applications like wound dressings and tissue engineering scaffolds. It is important to sterilize
this material using the most accepted method, the gamma irradiation. In this study, we have
evaluated the sterilizability of electrospun polycaprolactone membranes with gamma
radiation of varying doses. The irradiated materials were assessed for the changes in
morphology, crystallinity, surface degradation, hydrophilicity, mechanical property, sterility
and the cell proliferation. Our results demonstrate that electrospun polycaprolactone can be
effectively sterilized by gamma irradiation, however a higher dose of radiation affect the materials properties. The irradiated membranes showed improved hydrophilicity and
fibroblast cell proliferation.
