Electrospun silk fibroin/polyethylene oxide composite scaffolds with strontium or copper-doped hollow bioactive glass nanospheres for pH-triggered sustained drug release.

• Electrospun organic/inorganic VAN@5Sr/Cu-HBGNs/PEO/SF scaffolds were fabricated. • The hybrid scaffolds exhibited pH-responsive controlled release behavior. • VAN@5Sr-HBGNs/PEO/SF could prolong the drug release under neutral conditions. • Incorporation of 5Sr/Cu-HBGNs into scaffolds enhanced the corresponding bioactivity. Organic/inorganic hybrid biomaterials based on polymeric nano-composites constructed from mixture of biodegradable polymeric matrices and bioactive inorganic substrates have been highly attractive owing to their efficient tissue engineering applications. Herein we reported, for the first time, electrospun silk fibroin/polyethylene oxide (SF/PEO) scaffolds incorporated with appropriate strontium or copper-doped hollow bioactive glass nanospheres (Sr/Cu-HBGNs) loading with vancomycin hydrochloride (VAN) were prepared and their use as pH-sensitive drug nano-carriers to extend the duration of drug release were reported as well. In addition, the excellent apatite-formation ability of Sr/Cu-introduced nanocomposites improved the bioactivity of the related scaffolds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]