In vitro neuronal and glial response to magnetically stimulated piezoelectric poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV)/cobalt ferrite (CFO) microspheres.

Polymer biomaterials are being considered for tissue regeneration due to the possibility of resembling different extracellular matrix characteristics. However, most current scaffolds cannot respond to physical-chemical modifications of the cell microenvironment. Stimuli-responsive materials, such as electroactive smart polymers, are increasingly gaining attention once they can produce electrical potentials without external power supplies. The presence of piezoelectricity in human tissues like cartilage and bone highlights the importance of electrical stimulation in physiological conditions. Although poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) is one of the piezoelectric polymers with the highest piezoelectric response, it is not biodegradable. Poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) is a promising copolymer of poly(hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) for tissue engineering and regeneration applications. It offers biodegradability, piezoelectric properties, biocompatibility, and bioactivity, making it a superior option to PVDF for biomedical purposes requiring biodegradability. Magnetoelectric polymer composites can be made by combining magnetostrictive particles and piezoelectric polymers to further tune their properties for tissue regeneration. These composites convert magnetic stimuli into electrical stimuli, generating local electrical potentials for various applications. Cobalt ferrites (CFO) and piezoelectric polymers have been combined and processed into different morphologies, maintaining biocompatibility for tissue engineering. The present work studied how PHBV/CFO microspheres affected neural and glial response in spinal cord cultures. It is expected that the electrical signals generated by these microspheres due to their magnetoelectric nature could aid in tissue regeneration and repair. PHBV/CFO microspheres were not cytotoxic and were able to impact neurite outgrowth and promote neuronal differentiation. Furthermore, PHBV/CFO microspheres led to microglia activation and induced the release of several bioactive molecules. Importantly, magnetically stimulated microspheres ameliorated cell viability after an in vitro ROS-induced lesion of spinal cord cultures, which suggests a beneficial effect on tissue regeneration and repair.

State of the Art and Current Challenges on Electroactive Biomaterials and Strategies for Neural Tissue Regeneration.

The loss or failure of an organ/tissue stands as one of the healthcare system's most prevalent, devastating, and costly challenges. Strategies for neural tissue repair and regeneration have received significant attention due to their particularly strong impact on patients' well-being. Many research efforts are dedicated not only to control the disease symptoms but also to find solutions to repair the damaged tissues. Neural tissue engineering (TE) plays a key role in addressing this problem and significant efforts are being carried out to develop strategies for neural repair treatment. In the last years, active materials allowing to tune cell-materials interaction are being increasingly used, representing a recent paradigm in TE applications. Among the most important stimuli influencing cell behavior are the electrical and mechanical ones. In this way, materials with the ability to provide this kind of stimuli to the neural cells seem to be appropriate to support neural TE. In this scope, this review summarizes the different biomaterials types used for neural TE, highlighting the relevance of using active biomaterials and electrical stimulation. Furthermore, this review provides not only a compilation of the most relevant studies and results but also strategies for novel and more biomimetic approaches for neural TE.

Natural Indigenous Paper Substrates for Colorimetric Bioassays in Portable Analytical Systems: Sustainable Solutions from the Rain Forests to the Great Plains.

Point-of-care (POC) devices can provide inexpensive, practical, and expedited solutions for applications ranging from biomedicine to environmental monitoring. This work reports on the development of low-cost microfluidic substrates for POC systems suitable for analytical assays, while also satisfying the need for social and environmentally conscious practices regarding circular economy, waste reduction, and the use of local resources. Thus, an innovative greener process to extract cellulose from plants including abaca, cotton, kozo, linen, and sisal, originating from different places around the world, is developed, and then the corresponding paper substrates are obtained to serve as platforms for POC assays. Hydrophobic wax is used to delineate channels that are able to guide solutions into chambers where the colorimetric assay for total cholesterol quantification is carried out as a proof of concept. Morphological and physicochemical analyses are performed, including the evaluation of fiber diameter, shape and density, and mechanical and thermal properties, together with peel adhesion of the printed wax channels. Contact angle and capillary flow tests ascertain the suitability of the substrates for liquid assays and overall viability as low-cost, sustainable microfluidic substrates for POC applications.

Environmentally Friendlier Printable Conductive and Piezoresistive Sensing Materials Compatible with Conformable Electronics.

Flexible and conformable conductive composites have been developed using different polymers, including water-based polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), chemical-resistant polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), and elastomeric styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene (SEBS) reinforced with nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide with suitable viscosity in composites for printable solutions with functional properties. Manufactured by screen-printing using low-toxicity solvents, leading to more environmentally friendly conductive materials, the materials present an enormous step toward functional devices. The materials were enhanced in terms of filler/binder ratio, achieving screen-printed films with a sheet resistance lower than Rsq < 100 Ω/sq. The materials are biocompatible and support bending deformations up to 10 mm with piezoresistive performance for the different polymers up to 100 bending cycles. The piezoresistive performance of the SEBS binder is greater than double that the other composites, with a gauge factor near 4. Thermoforming was applied to all materials, with the PVP-based ones showing the lowest electrical resistance after the bending process. These conductive materials open a path for developing sustainable and functional devices for printable and conformable electronics.

Smart and Multifunctional Materials Based on Electroactive Poly(vinylidene fluoride): Recent Advances and Opportunities in Sensors, Actuators, Energy, Environmental, and Biomedical Applications.

From scientific and technological points of view, poly(vinylidene fluoride), PVDF, is one of the most exciting polymers due to its overall physicochemical characteristics. This polymer can crystalize into five crystalline phases and can be processed in the form of films, fibers, membranes, and specific microstructures, being the physical properties controllable over a wide range through appropriate chemical modifications. Moreover, PVDF-based materials are characterized by excellent chemical, mechanical, thermal, and radiation resistance, and for their outstanding electroactive properties, including high dielectric, piezoelectric, pyroelectric, and ferroelectric response, being the best among polymer systems and thus noteworthy for an increasing number of technologies. This review summarizes and critically discusses the latest advances in PVDF and its copolymers, composites, and blends, including their main characteristics and processability, together with their tailorability and implementation in areas including sensors, actuators, energy harvesting and storage devices, environmental membranes, microfluidic, tissue engineering, and antimicrobial applications. The main conclusions, challenges and future trends concerning materials and application areas are also presented.

Electroactive Materials Surface Charge Impacts Neuron Viability and Maturation in 2D Cultures.

Since neurons were first cultured outside a living organism more than a century ago, a number of experimental techniques for their in vitro maintenance have been developed. These methods have been further adapted and refined to study specific neurobiological processes under controlled experimental conditions. Despite their limitations, the simplicity and visual accessibility of 2D cultures have enabled the study of the effects of trophic factors, adhesion molecules, and biophysical stimuli on neuron function and morphology. Nevertheless, the impact of fundamental properties of the surfaces to which neurons adhere when cultured in vitro has not been sufficiently considered. Here, we used an electroactive polymer with different electric poling states leading to different surface charges to evaluate the impact of the net electric surface charge on the behavior of primary neurons. Average negative and positive surface charges promote increased metabolic activity and enhance the maturation of primary neurons, demonstrating the relevance of considering the composition and electric charge of the culture surfaces. These findings further pave the way for the development of novel therapeutic strategies for the regeneration of neural tissues, particularly based on dynamic surface charge variation that can be induced in the electroactive films through mechanical solicitation.

Modulation of myoblast differentiation by electroactive scaffold morphology and biochemical stimuli.

The physico-chemical properties of the scaffold materials used for tissue regeneration strategies have a direct impact on cell shape, adhesion, proliferation, phenotypic and differentiation. Herewith, biophysical and biochemical cues have been widely used to design and develop biomaterial systems for specific tissue engineering strategies. In this context, the patterning of piezoelectric polymers that can provide electroactive stimuli represents a suitable strategy for skeletal muscle tissue engineering applications once it has been demonstrated that mechanoelectrical stimuli promote C2C12 myoblast differentiation. In this sense, this works reports on how C2C12 myoblast cells detect and react to physical and biochemical stimuli based on micropatterned poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE)) electroactive scaffolds produced by soft lithography in the form of arrays of lines and hexagons (anisotropic and isotropic morphology, respectively) combined with differentiation medium. The scaffolds were evaluated for the proliferation and differentiation of C2C12 myoblast cell line and it is demonstrated that anisotropic microstructures promote muscle differentiation which is further reinforced with the introduction of biochemical stimulus. However, when the physical stimulus is not adequate to the tissue, e.g. isotropic microstructure, the biochemical stimulus has the opposite effect, hindering the differentiation process. Therefore, the proper morphological design of the scaffold combined with biochemical stimulus allows to enhance skeletal muscle differentiation and allows the development of advanced strategies for effective muscle tissue engineering.

Development of Silk Fibroin Scaffolds for Vascular Repair.

Silk fibroin (SF) is a biocompatible natural protein with excellent mechanical characteristics. SF-based biomaterials can be structured using a number of techniques, allowing the tuning of materials for specific biomedical applications. In this study, SF films, porous membranes, and electrospun membranes were produced using solvent-casting, salt-leaching, and electrospinning methodologies, respectively. SF-based materials were subjected to physicochemical and biological characterizations to determine their suitability for tissue regeneration applications. Mechanical analysis showed stress-strain curves of brittle materials in films and porous membranes, while electrospun membranes featured stress-strain curves typical of ductile materials. All samples showed similar chemical composition, melting transition, hydrophobic behavior, and low cytotoxicity levels, regardless of their architecture. Finally, all of the SF-based materials promote the proliferation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). These findings demonstrate the different relationship between HUVEC behavior and the SF sample's topography, which can be taken advantage of for the design of vascular implants.

Enhanced neuronal differentiation by dynamic piezoelectric stimulation.

Electroactive smart materials play an important role for tissue regenerative applications. Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) is a specific subtype of piezoelectric electroactive material that generates electrical potential upon mechanical stimulation. This work focuses on the application of piezoelectric PVDF films for neural differentiation. Human neural precursor cells (hNPCs) are cultured on piezoelectric poled and non-poled ß-PVDF films with or without a pre-coating step of poly-d-lysine and laminin (PDL/L). Subsequently, hNPCs differentiation into the neuronal lineage is assessed (MAP2+ and DCX+ ) under static or dynamic (piezoelectric stimulation) culture conditions. The results demonstrate that poled and coated ß-PVDF films induce neuronal differentiation under static culture conditions which is further enhanced with mechanical stimulation. In silico calculations of the electrostatic potential of different domains of laminin, highlight the high polarity of those domains, which shows a clear preference to interact with the varying surface electric field of the piezoelectric material under mechanical stimulation. These interactions might explain the higher neuronal differentiation induced by poled ß-PVDF films pre-coated with PDL/L under dynamic conditions. Our results suggest that electromechanical stimuli, such as the ones induced by piezoelectric ß-PVDF films, are suitable to promote neuronal differentiation and hold great promise for the development of neuroregenerative therapies.

Piezoelectric and Magnetically Responsive Biodegradable Composites with Tailored Porous Morphology for Biotechnological Applications.

The biomedical area in the scope of tissue regeneration pursues the development of advanced materials that can target biomimetic approaches and, ideally, have an active role in the environment they are placed in. This active role can be related to or driven by morphological, mechanical, electrical, or magnetic stimuli, among others. This work reports on the development of active biomaterials based on poly(3-hydroxybutyric acid-co-3-hydroxyvaleric acid), PHBV, a piezoelectric and biodegradable polymer, for tissue regeneration application by tailoring its morphology and functional response. PHBV films with different porosities were obtained using the solvent casting method, resorting to high-boiling-point solvents, as N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), and the combination of chloroform (CF) and DMF for polymer dissolution. Furthermore, magnetoelectric biomaterials were obtained through the combination of the piezoelectric PHBV with magnetostrictive iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles. Independently of the morphology or filler content, all biomaterials proved to be suitable for biomedical applications.

Development and evaluation of different electroactive poly(vinylidene fluoride) architectures for endothelial cell culture.

Tissue engineering (TE) aims to develop structures that improve or even replace the biological functions of tissues and organs. Mechanical properties, physical-chemical characteristics, biocompatibility, and biological performance of the materials are essential factors for their applicability in TE. Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) is a thermoplastic polymer that exhibits good mechanical properties, high biocompatibility and excellent thermal properties. However, PVDF structuring, and the corresponding processing methods used for its preparation are known to significantly influence these characteristics. In this study, doctor blade, salt-leaching, and electrospinning processing methods were used to produce PVDF-based structures in the form of films, porous membranes, and fiber scaffolds, respectively. These PVDF scaffolds were subjected to a variety of characterizations and analyses, including physicochemical analysis, contact angle measurement, cytotoxicity assessment and cell proliferation. All prepared PVDF scaffolds are characterized by a mechanical response typical of ductile materials. PVDF films displayed mostly vibration modes for the a-phase, while the remaining PVDF samples were characterized by a higher content of electroactive ß-phase due the low temperature solvent evaporation during processing. No significant variations have been observed between the different PVDF membranes with respect to the melting transition. In addition, all analysed PVDF samples present a hydrophobic behavior. On the other hand, cytotoxicity assays confirm that cell viability is maintained independently of the architecture and processing method. Finally, all the PVDF samples promote human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) proliferation, being higher on the PVDF film and electrospun randomly-oriented membranes. These findings demonstrated the importance of PVDF topography on HUVEC behavior, which can be used for the design of vascular implants.

Electrospun Magnetic Ionic Liquid Based Electroactive Materials for Tissue Engineering Applications.

Functional electrospun fibers incorporating ionic liquids (ILs) present a novel approach in the development of active microenviroments due to their ability to respond to external magnetic fields without the addition of magnetic particles. In this context, this work reports on the development of magnetically responsive magneto-ionic fibers based on the electroactive polymer poly(vinylidene fluoride) and the magnetic IL (MIL), bis(1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium) tetrathiocyanatocobaltate ([Bmim]2[(SCN)4Co]). The PVDF/MIL electrospun fibers were prepared incorporating 5, 10 and 15 wt.% of the MIL, showing that the inclusion of the MIL increases the polar ß-phase content of the polymer from 79% to 94% and decreases the crystallinity of the fibers from 47% to 36%. Furthermore, the thermal stability of the fibers decreases with the incorporation of the MIL. The magnetization of the PVDF/MIL composite fibers is proportional to the MIL content and decreases with temperature. Finally, cytotoxicity assays show a decrease in cell viability with increasing the MIL content.

Two- and three-dimensional piezoelectric scaffolds for bone tissue engineering.

The incidence of bone disorders worldwide is increasing. For this reason, new and more effective strategies for bone repair are needed. The most common strategy used for cell regeneration relies in biochemical stimulation while biophysical stimulation using mechanical, and electrical cues is a promising, however, still under-investigated field. This work reports on the development of piezoelectric 2D and 3D porous scaffolds for bone tissue regeneration strategies. While the porous scaffolds mimic the bone's structure, the piezoelectric activity of the scaffolds mimics the bone mechano-electric microenvironment. The piezoelectric activity is related to the electroactive ß-phase of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) in the scaffolds and was dynamically stimulated by cell culture in a custom-made mechanical bioreactor. These two factors combined provide an effective biomimetic environment for the proliferation of preosteoblasts. The electromechanically-responsive scaffolds are found to promote the enhancement of proliferation rate of MC3T3-E1 osteoblastic cells in about 20 % as well as an improved adhesion and proliferation over the materials, mainly when dynamically stimulated. These results prove that local piezoelectric effect, as the one existing in bone tissue, allows effective cell proliferation, which could be further translated in more efficient strategies for bone tissue regeneration.

Understanding Myoblast Differentiation Pathways When Cultured on Electroactive Scaffolds through Proteomic Analysis.

Electroactive materials allow the modulation of cell-materials interactions and cell fate, leading to advanced tissue regeneration strategies. Nevertheless, their effect at the cellular level is still poorly understood. In this context, the proteome analysis of C2C12 cell differentiation cultured on piezoelectric polymer films with null average surface charge (non-poled), net positive surface charge (poled +), and net negative surface charge (poled -) has been addressed. Protein/pathway alterations for skeletal muscle development were identified comparing proteomic profiles of C2C12 cells differentiated on poly(vinylidene fluoride), with similar cells differentiated on a polystyrene plate (control), using label-free liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Only significantly expressed proteins (P < 0.01, analysis of variance) were used for bioinformatic analyses. A total of 37 significantly expressed proteins were detected on the C2C12 proteome with PVDF "poled -" at 24 h, whereas on the PVDF "poled +", a total of 105 significantly expressed proteins were considered. At 5 days of differentiation, the number of significantly expressed proteins decreased to 23 and 31 in cells grown on negative and positive surface charge, respectively, the influence of surface charge being more explicit in some proteins. In both cases, proteins such as Fbn1, Hspg2, Rcn3, Tgm2, Mylpf, Anxa2, and Anxa6, involved in calcium-related signaling, were highly expressed during myoblast differentiation. Furthermore, some proteins involved in muscle contraction (Acta2, Anxa2, and Anxa6) were detected in the PVDF "poled +" sample. Upregulation of several proteins that enhance skeletal muscle development was detected in the PVDF "poled -" sample, including Ckm (422%), Tmem14c (384%), Serpinb6a (460%), adh7 (199%), and Car3 (171%), while for the "poled +" samples, these proteins were also upregulated at a smaller magnitude (254, 317, 253, 123, and 72%, respectively). Other differentially expressed proteins such as Mylpf (189%), Mybph (168%), and Mbnl1 (168%) were upregulated only in PVDF "poled -" samples, while Hba-a1 levels (581%) were increased in the PVDF "poled +" sample. On the other hand, cells cultured on non-poled samples have no differences with respect to the ones cultured on the control, in contrary to the poled films, with overall surface charge, demonstrating the relevance of scaffold surface charge on cell behavior. This study demonstrates that both positive and negative overall surface charges promote the differentiation of C2C12 cells through involvement of proteins related with the contraction of the skeletal muscle cells, with a more pronounced effect with the negative charged surfaces.

Ionic Liquid-Based Materials for Biomedical Applications.

Ionic liquids (ILs) have been extensively explored and implemented in different areas, ranging from sensors and actuators to the biomedical field. The increasing attention devoted to ILs centers on their unique properties and possible combination of different cations and anions, allowing the development of materials with specific functionalities and requirements for applications. Particularly for biomedical applications, ILs have been used for biomaterials preparation, improving dissolution and processability, and have been combined with natural and synthetic polymer matrixes to develop IL-polymer hybrid materials to be employed in different fields of the biomedical area. This review focus on recent advances concerning the role of ILs in the development of biomaterials and their combination with natural and synthetic polymers for different biomedical areas, including drug delivery, cancer therapy, tissue engineering, antimicrobial and antifungal agents, and biosensing.

Fractionating stem cells secretome for Parkinson's disease modeling: Is it the whole better than the sum of its parts?

Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) secretome has been have been at the forefront of a new wave of possible therapeutic strategies for central nervous system neurodegenerative disorders, as Parkinson's disease (PD). While within its protein fraction, several promising proteins were already identified with therapeutic properties on PD, the potential of hMSCs-secretome vesicular fraction remains to be elucidated. Such highlighting is important, since hMSCs secretome-derived vesicles can act as biological nanoparticles with beneficial effects in different pathological contexts. Therefore, in this work, we have isolated hMSCs secretome vesicular fraction, and assessed their impact on neuronal survival, and differentiation on human neural progenitors' cells (hNPCs), and in a 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) rat model of PD when compared to hMSCs secretome (as a whole) and its protein derived fraction. From the results, we have found hMSCs vesicular fraction as polydispersity source of vesicles, which when applied in vitro was able to induce hNPCs differentiation at the same levels as the whole secretome, while the protein separated fraction was not able to induce such effect. In the context of PD, although distinct effects were observed, hMSCs secretome and its derived fractions displayed a positive impact on animals' motor and histological performance, thereby indicating that hMSCs secretome and its different fractions may impact different mechanisms and pathways. Overall, we concluded that the use of the secretome collected from hMSCs and its different fractions might be active modulators of different neuroregeneration mechanisms, which could open new therapeutical opportunities for their future use as a treatment for PD.

Biodegradable Hydrogels Loaded with Magnetically Responsive Microspheres as 2D and 3D Scaffolds.

Scaffolds play an essential role in the success of tissue engineering approaches. Their intrinsic properties are known to influence cellular processes such as adhesion, proliferation and differentiation. Hydrogel-based matrices are attractive scaffolds due to their high-water content resembling the native extracellular matrix. In addition, polymer-based magnetoelectric materials have demonstrated suitable bioactivity, allowing to provide magnetically and mechanically activated biophysical electrical stimuli capable of improving cellular processes. The present work reports on a responsive scaffold based on poly (L-lactic acid) (PLLA) microspheres and magnetic microsphere nanocomposites composed of PLLA and magnetostrictive cobalt ferrites (CoFe2O4), combined with a hydrogel matrix, which mimics the tissue's hydrated environment and acts as a support matrix. For cell proliferation evaluation, two different cell culture conditions (2D and 3D matrices) and two different strategies, static and dynamic culture, were applied in order to evaluate the influence of extracellular matrix-like confinement and the magnetoelectric/magneto-mechanical effect on cellular behavior. MC3T3-E1 proliferation rate is increased under dynamic conditions, indicating the potential use of hydrogel matrices with remotely stimulated magnetostrictive biomaterials for bone tissue engineering.

Patterned Piezoelectric Scaffolds for Osteogenic Differentiation.

The morphological clues of scaffolds can determine cell behavior and, therefore, the patterning of electroactive polymers can be a suitable strategy for bone tissue engineering. In this way, this work reports on the influence of poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE)) electroactive micropatterned scaffolds on the proliferation and differentiation of bone cells. For that, micropatterned P(VDF-TrFE) scaffolds were produced by lithography in the form of arrays of lines and hexagons and then tested for cell proliferation and differentiation of pre-osteoblast cell line. Results show that more anisotropic surface microstructures promote bone differentiation without the need of further biochemical stimulation. Thus, the combination of specific patterns with the inherent electroactivity of materials provides a promising platform for bone regeneration.

Magnetic Bioreactor for Magneto-, Mechano- and Electroactive Tissue Engineering Strategies.

Biomimetic bioreactor systems are increasingly being developed for tissue engineering applications, due to their ability to recreate the native cell/tissue microenvironment. Regarding bone-related diseases and considering the piezoelectric nature of bone, piezoelectric scaffolds electromechanically stimulated by a bioreactor, providing the stimuli to the cells, allows a biomimetic approach and thus, mimicking the required microenvironment for effective growth and differentiation of bone cells. In this work, a bioreactor has been designed and built allowing to magnetically stimulate magnetoelectric scaffolds and therefore provide mechanical and electrical stimuli to the cells through magnetomechanical or magnetoelectrical effects, depending on the piezoelectric nature of the scaffold. While mechanical bioreactors need direct application of the stimuli on the scaffolds, the herein proposed magnetic bioreactors allow for a remote stimulation without direct contact with the material. Thus, the stimuli application (23 mT at a frequency of 0.3 Hz) to cells seeded on the magnetoelectric, leads to an increase in cell viability of almost 30% with respect to cell culture under static conditions. This could be valuable to mimic what occurs in the human body and for application in immobilized patients. Thus, special emphasis has been placed on the control, design and modeling parameters governing the bioreactor as well as its functional mechanism.

Morphology Dependence Degradation of Electro- and Magnetoactive Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyvalerate) for Tissue Engineering Applications.

Poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) is a piezoelectric biodegradable and biocompatible polymer suitable for tissue engineering applications. The incorporation of magnetostrictive cobalt ferrites (CFO) into PHBV matrix enables the production of magnetically responsive composites, which proved to be effective in the differentiation of a variety of cells and tissues. In this work, PHBV and PHBV with CFO nanoparticles were produced in the form of films, fibers and porous scaffolds and subjected to an experimental program allowing to evaluate the degradation process under biological conditions for a period up to 8 weeks. The morphology, physical, chemical and thermal properties were evaluated, together with the weight loss of the samples during the in vitro degradation assays. No major changes in the mentioned properties were found, thus proving its applicability for tissue engineering applications. Degradation was apparent from week 4 and onwards, leading to the conclusion that the degradation ratio of the material is suitable for a large range of tissue engineering applications. Further, it was found that the degradation of the samples maintain the biocompatibility of the materials for the pristine polymer, but can lead to cytotoxic effects when the magnetic CFO nanoparticles are exposed, being therefore needed, for magnetoactive applications, to substitute them by biocompatible ferrites, such as an iron oxide (Fe3O4).