Journal article · Preprint article
Emulsion Electrospinning as an Approach to Fabricate PLGA/Chitosan Nanofibers for Biomedical Applications
Department of Textile Engineering, Center of Excellence in Applied Nanotechnology, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 84156-83111, Iran1
Department of Materials Chemistry, Uppsala University, 75121 Uppsala, Sweden2
Department of Engineering Sciences, Applied Materials Science, Uppsala University, 75121 Uppsala, Sweden3
Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, Division of Molecular Physics, Linkoping University, 58183 Linkoping, Sweden4
Department of Industrial and Environmental Biotechnology, National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Tehran 14965-161, Iran5
Novel nanofibers from blends of polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) and chitosan have been produced through an emulsion electrospinning process. The spinning solution employed polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as the emulsifier. PVA was extracted from the electrospun nanofibers, resulting in a final scaffold consisting of a blend of PLGA and chitosan.
The fraction of chitosan in the final electrospun mat was adjusted from 0 to 33%. Analyses by scanning and transmission electron microscopy show uniform nanofibers with homogenous distribution of PLGA and chitosan in their cross section. Infrared spectroscopy verifies that electrospun mats contain both PLGA and chitosan.
Moreover, contact angle measurements show that the electrospun PLGA/chitosan mats are more hydrophilic than electrospun mats of pure PLGA. Tensile strengths of 4.94 MPa and 4.21 MPa for PLGA/chitosan in dry and wet conditions, respectively, illustrate that the polyblend mats of PLGA/chitosan are strong enough for many biomedical applications.
Cell culture studies suggest that PLGA/chitosan nanofibers promote fibroblast attachment and proliferation compared to PLGA membranes. It can be assumed that the nanofibrous composite scaffold of PLGA/chitosan could be potentially used for skin tissue reconstruction.
Language: | Undetermined |
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Publisher: | Hindawi Publishing Corporation |
Year: | 2014 |
Pages: | 475280 |
ISSN: | 23146141 and 23146133 |
Types: | Journal article and Preprint article |
DOI: | 10.1155/2014/475280 |
ORCIDs: | Ajalloueian, Fatemeh and Wickham, Abeni |