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Indocyanine green (ICG) provides an advantage in the imaging of deep tumors as it can reach deeper location without being absorbed in the upper layers of biological tissues in the wavelengths, which named “therapeutic window” in the tissue engineering. Unfortunately, rapid elimination and short-term stability in aqueous media limited its use as a fluorescence probe for the early detection of cancerous tissue. In this study, stabilization of ICG was performed by encapsulating ICG molecules into the biodegradable polymer composited with poly(l-lactic acid) and poly(?-caprolactone) via a simple one-step multiaxial electrospinning method. Different types of coaxial and triaxial structure groups were performed and compared with single polymer only groups. Confocal microscopy was used to image the encapsulated ICG (1 mg/mL) within electrospun nanofibers and in vitro ICG uptake by MIA PaCa-2 pancreatic cancer cells. Stability of encapsulated ICG is demonstrated by the in vitro sustainable release profile in PBS (pH = 4 and 7) up to 21 days. These results suggest the potential of the ability of internalization and accommodation of ICG into the pancreatic cell cytoplasm from in vitro implanted ICG-encapsulated multiaxial nanofiber mats. ICG-encapsulated multilayer nanofibers may be promising for the local sustained delivery system to eliminate loss of dosage caused by direct injection of ICG-loaded nanoparticles in systemic administration. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Şahin, Yeşim Müge (Arel Author), The use of natural compounds such as biocompatible and non-toxic plant extracts, without undesired side effects, in tissue engineering applications, is highly preferred compared to chemical drugs. In this study, the characterization and performance of electrospun Achillea lycaonica-loaded (0.125, 0.250 and 0.500, wt%) poly(lactic acid) (PLA) (8%, w/v) nanofibrous mats for skin tissue engineering were investigated. SEM, FTIR, DSC, and tensile strength test of the electrospun nanofibers have been investigated. Drug releasing test and cell culture study were also carried out. Achillea lycaonica-loaded nanofibrous mats in 0.250 (wt%) and 0.500 (wt%) demonstrated excellent cell compatibility and increased the viability of NIH/3T3 (mouse embryo fibroblast) cells within 72 h. According to the results, Achillea lycaonica-loaded PLA nanofibers have proper tensile strength and controlled release. The working temperature range enlarged for the composites having higher plant extract content. Consequently, Achillea lycaonica-loaded nanofibrous mats have a great potential in skin tissue engineering applications. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd, Dr. Muhammet E. Cam was supported by a TUBITAK 2219 Research Programme Grant ( Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey -TUBITAK) and thanks UCL Mechanical Engineering for hosting his post-doctoral research in the UK.