ABSTRACT
In this study, hydrophilic pullulan, which is favorable for cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation, was selected as a modifier for the preparation of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate) (P(3HB-co-4HB))/pullulan nanofibers via electrospinning to improve the biocompatibility of P(3HB-co-4HB) and increase the drug loading of composite fibers. Alkyl polyglycoside was used as the emulsifying agent to promote emulsification and stabilize the P(3HB-co-4HB)/pullulan composite solution. Drug-loading property of the nanofibers with a shell-core structure is increased because gelatin was not formed into fibers via electrospinning, thereby forming a stable drug-containing gelatin solution in the core layer. Finally, P(3HB-co-4HB)/pullulan-gelatin shell-core nanofibers were prepared. The intermolecular interaction, morphology, crystallization properties, mechanical properties, morphology, sustained release, and biocompatibility of composite nanofibers were characterized. Results show that the crystallization property of P(3HB-co-4HB)/pullulan composite nanofibers increases continuously with an increase in the pullulan content. As the pullulan content increases, the strain and stress of P(3HB-co-4HB)/pullulan nanofibers increase initially and decrease later. At the mass ratio of P(3HB-co-4HB) to pullulan of 10:2, P(3HB-co-4HB)/pullulan composite nanofibers exhibit a uniform morphology with an average diameter of 590 nm and porosity of 70.71%. At this mass ratio, the P(3HB-co-4HB)/pullulan-gelatin/drug shell-core structure, which sustained a release effect for more than 180 h, has potential applications as biomaterials without cytotoxicity.
Subject(s)
3-Hydroxybutyric Acid/chemistry , Biocompatible Materials/chemistry , Gelatin/chemistry , Hydroxybutyrates/chemistry , Nanofibers/chemistry , Polyesters/chemistry , Schwann Cells/drug effects , Animals , Cell Differentiation , Cell Proliferation , Cells, Cultured , Crystallization , Glucans , Materials Testing , Porosity , Rats , Skin , Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared , Stress, Mechanical , Tissue Scaffolds , X-Ray DiffractionABSTRACT
In this work, to improve the spinnability of sodium alginate, potassium persulfate (KPS) was used as initiator, SA was modified with acrylonitrile (AN) to prepare sodium alginate-polyacrylonitrile copolymer (SA-g-AN), and SA-g-AN/PEG composite solutions were prepared by blending SA-g-AN and polyethylene glycol (PEG) as spinning solution to prepare corresponding electrospun nanofibers. The chemical structure and thermal stability of SA-g-AN were characterized by infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The physical properties of SA-g-AN and SA-g-AN/PEG spinning solution were determined by viscometer, surface tension meter and electrical conductivity meter, the morphology of SA-g-AN and SA-g-AN/PEG electrospun fibers were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). And the oil-water separation performance and water resistance of SA-g-AN electrospun fibers were also investigated. The results revealed that: the graft modification of acrylonitrile significantly improved the electrospinnability of sodium alginate. The water-resistance of modified graft copolymer was improved as well as the thermal stability, and the electrospun nanofibers had a uniform morphology and stable oil-water separation performance.
