Electrospun polycaprolactone scaffolds loaded with a 1,4-naphthoquinone derivative for anticancer therapy

• Novel materials for tissue repair after surgical resection of tumors are needed. • Naphthoquinones have been reported to be effective for anticancer therapy. • Electrospun PCL-based scaffolds were loaded with a 1,4-naphthoquinone derivative. • Anticancer activity was retained, yet mechanical properties did not change for doped scaffolds. The development of bioresorbable scaffolds with anticancer properties for use in tissue repair after surgical resection of tumors is important. Naphthoquinones with high anticancer activity are promising compounds for creating anticancer scaffolds. Thus, electrospun polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffolds embedded with different concentrations of 2-chloro-3-((4-hydroxyphenyl)amino)-1,4-naphthoquinonone (NQCP4) were fabricated without changing the technological parameters of scaffold formation. Loading NQCP4 into the spinning solution at concentrations of 10 to 50 μg/mL did not cause changes in the structure, strength, or wettability of the scaffold. However, increasing NQCP4 concentrations in the spinning solution enhanced anticancer properties of the scaffolds in vitro . Thus, the use of NQCP4 makes it possible to obtain promising PCL scaffolds for tissue repair, which are in demand for surgical resection of malignant neoplasms, while still maintaining the technological advantages of “classical” electrospinning technology.