Composite nanofibers of biopolymers and inorganic materials have been widely explored as tissue engineering scaffolds because of their superior structural, mechanical and biological properties. In this study, magnesium ferrite (Mg-ferrite) based composite nanofibers were synthesized using an electrospinning technique. Mg-ferrite nanoparticles were first synthesized using the reverse micelle method, and then blended in a mixture of polycaprolactone (PCL), a synthetic polymer, and Aloe vera, a natural polymer, to create magnetic nanofibers by electrospinning. The morphology, structural and magnetic properties, and cellular compatibility of the magnetic nanofibers were analyzed. Mg-ferrite/PCL/Aloe vera nanofibers showed good uniformity in fiber morphology, retained their structural integrity, and displayed magnetic strength. Experimental results, using cell viability assay and scanning electron microscopy imaging showed that magnetic nanofibers supported 3T3 cell viability. We believe that the new composite nanofibrous membranes developed in this study have the ability to mimic the physical structure and function of tissue extracellular matrix, as well as provide the magnetic and soluble metal ion attributes in the scaffolds with enhanced cell attachment, and thus improve tissue regeneration.

We report the epitaxial growth of europium-activated yttrium oxide $({\mathrm{Y}}_{\mathrm{2}}{\mathrm{O}}_{\mathrm{3}}\mathrm{:Eu})$ (001) thin films on ${\mathrm{LaAlO}}_{\mathrm{3}}$ (001) using laser ablation deposition at a substrate temperature of 775 °C and 10 Hz pulse repetition rate. The orientation relationship between the films and the substrates is ${\mathrm{[110]Y}}_{\mathrm{2}}{\mathrm{O}}_{\mathrm{3}}{\mathrm{\parallel [100]LaAlO}}_{\mathrm{3}}$ and ${\mathrm{[-110]Y}}_{\mathrm{2}}{\mathrm{O}}_{\mathrm{3}}{\mathrm{\parallel [010]LaAlO}}_{\mathrm{3}}$ which results in a lattice mismatch of only 0.8%. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of the films reveals the single crystalline ${\mathrm{Y}}_{\mathrm{2}}{\mathrm{O}}_{\mathrm{3}}\mathrm{:Eu}$ thin film to contain small pores. Scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) imaging of the films shows the substrate always terminates with the Al sublattice. Moreover, the STEM reveals that no precipitates of Eu had formed in the films.