To provide adequate conditions for the regeneration of damaged bone, it is necessary to develop piezoelectric porous membranes with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. In this study, composite nanofibers comprising poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and a polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane⁻epigallocatechin gallate (POSS⁻EGCG) conjugate were fabricated by electrospinning methods. The resulting composite nanofibers showed three-dimensionally interconnected porous structures. Their average diameters, ranging from 936 ± 223 nm to 1094 ± 394 nm, were hardly affected by the addition of the POSS⁻EGCG conjugate. On the other hand, the piezoelectric β-phase increased significantly from 77.4% to 88.1% after adding the POSS⁻EGCG conjugate. The mechanical strength of the composite nanofibers was ameliorated by the addition of the POSS⁻EGCG conjugate. The results of in vitro bioactivity tests exhibited that the proliferation and differentiation of osteoblasts (MC3T3-E1) on the nanofibers increased with the content of POSS⁻EGCG conjugate because of the improved piezoelectricity and antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of the nanofibers. All results could suggest that the PVDF composite nanofibers were effective for guided bone regeneration.
Keywords: antioxidant activity; bone regeneration; composite nanofiber; piezoelectricity; poly(vinylidene fluoride).