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. 2018 Jul 20;8(7):551.
doi: 10.3390/nano8070551.

Nanostructured Hydrogels by Blend Electrospinning of Polycaprolactone/Gelatin Nanofibers

Lode Daelemans  1 , Iline Steyaert  2   3 , Ella Schoolaert  4 , Camille Goudenhooft  5 , Hubert Rahier  6 , Karen De Clerck  7
Affiliations

Nanostructured Hydrogels by Blend Electrospinning of Polycaprolactone/Gelatin Nanofibers

Lode Daelemans et al. Nanomaterials (Basel). .

Abstract

Nanofibrous membranes based on polycaprolactone (PCL) have a large potential for use in biomedical applications but are limited by the hydrophobicity of PCL. Blend electrospinning of PCL with other biomedical suited materials, such as gelatin (Gt) allows for the design of better and new materials. This study investigates the possibility of blend electrospinning PCL/Gt nanofibrous membranes which can be used to design a range of novel materials better suited for biomedical applications. The electrospinnability and stability of PCL/Gt blend nanofibers from a non-toxic acid solvent system are investigated. The solvent system developed in this work allows good electrospinnable emulsions for the whole PCL/Gt composition range. Uniform bead-free nanofibers can easily be produced, and the resulting fiber diameter can be tuned by altering the total polymer concentration. Addition of small amounts of water stabilizes the electrospinning emulsions, allowing the electrospinning of large and homogeneous nanofibrous structures over a prolonged period. The resulting blend nanofibrous membranes are analyzed for their composition, morphology, and homogeneity. Cold-gelling experiments on these novel membranes show the possibility of obtaining water-stable PCL/Gt nanofibrous membranes, as well as nanostructured hydrogels reinforced with nanofibers. Both material classes provide a high potential for designing new material applications.

Keywords: biomaterial; biomedical; hybrid material; nanofibers; nanofibrous membranes; reinforced; scaffolds; thermal analysis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of PCL/Gt blend nanofibers electrospun using a total polymer concentration of 13 wt% and 70/30 AA/FA (TCD of 12.5 cm, flow rate of 1 mL·h−1 and voltage adjusted in the range of 15–20 kV for stable electrospinning): (a) 100/0 PCL/Gt, (b) 70/30 PCL/Gt, (c) 50/50 PCL/Gt, (d) 30/70 PCL/Gt and (e) 0/100 PCL/Gt. All PCL/Gt blend ratios were well electrospinnable.
Figure 2
Figure 2
SEM images of 50/50 PCL/Gt blend nanofibers electrospun using 70/30 AA/FA (TCD of 12.5 cm, FR of 1 mL·h−1 and E adjusted for stable electrospinning) with a total polymer concentration of (a) 9 wt%, (b) 13 wt% and (c) 17 wt%. Varying the total polymer concentration significantly affects fiber diameters.
Figure 3
Figure 3
SEM images of 85/15 PCL/Gt nanofibers produced using a polymer concentration of 13 wt% but with differing solvent systems: (a) An emulsion unstable in time; (b) An emulsion stable in time, and; (c) A clear solution stable in time.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Normalized Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) spectra of films obtained by solution casting the upper (red) or lower (blue) phase, representing the continuous and dispersed phase respectively, of a PCL/Gt emulsion in (a) 70/30 AA/FA or (b) 30/70 AA/FA left at rest.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The effect of blending with gelatin, using a 70/30 AA/FA solvent system, on (a) the melting behavior and (b) the glass transition of PCL-based nanofibers measured by DSC at 2.5 K·min−1 and by DMA respectively.
Figure 6
Figure 6
SEM images of PCL/Gt blend nanofibers (13 wt%, 70/30 AA/FA) with different PCL/Gt ratios (a–d) before and (e–h) after water treatment, i.e., rinsing with demineralized water at 35 °C. Mass loss is calculated by weighing the dried weight. Based on this mass loss of gelatin, a new PCL/Gt ratio was calculated for the rinsed samples.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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