Core-shell PVA/gelatin nanofibrous scaffolds using co-solvent, aqueous electrospinning: toward a green approach

Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/app.46582

Electrospinning (ES) of gelatin often requires cytotoxic organic solvents or acidic environments, which deteriorate cell rec-ognition sites. In this study, aqueous, non-toxic, co-solvent ES was performed to obtain core–shell poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/gelatinnanofiber scaffolds. Effects of the core/shell feed rate ratio (FRR) were investigated on a morphological and mechanical basis. PVA:ge-latin ratio of 1:4 was the limiting ratio for specific voltage and electrode distance parameters to obtain uniform fibers. Core–shellbead-free structures were obtained at 8% PVA and gelatin aqueous solutions. A mean diameter of 280 nm was obtained for 1:1 FRRat 15 kV and 15 cm of electrode distance. Crosslinking resulted in slight improvement in tensile strengths and severe decrease in duc-tility. Fourier transform infrared spectra revealed retention and improvement of stable secondary structures of gelatin after ES. Thescaffolds almost degraded more than 60% in 14 days. Based on the results, present scaffolds hold great promise as suitable candidatesfor biomedical applications.