Fabrication and characterization of electrospun biopolyester/gelatin nanofibers

Abstract

AbstractPoly(ω‐pentadecalactone‐co‐ε‐caprolactone) copolymer (PDL‐CL) is an enzymatically synthesized aliphatic biopolyester, which has been participated in a nanofibrous structure for the first time. Electrospinning of this synthetic polymer by blending with a natural polymer such as gelatin (Gel) could provide new characteristics that are significant for biomedical applications, such as drug delivery, wound healing, and tissue engineering. In the present study, PDL‐CL/Gel nanofibrous membranes were successfully produced and characterized. The average diameter of nanofibers was 305.0 ± 45.5 nm that may be beneficial in applications mentioned above. In order to increase hydrolytic resistance, cross‐linking with glutaraldehyde vapor was applied. Cross‐linking for 2 h was enough to obtain a nanofibrous membrane that was able to resist in pH 7.4 phosphate buffered saline for 30 days. In addition, contact angle measurement results had shown that, cross‐linked nanofibrous membrane had good wettability, which is a required specification to be applied in biomedical field. Hence, this study provides an overview on fabrication of fine PDL‐CL/Gel nanofibers, which may have potential to be used in biomedical area.