In-situ crosslinking of electrospun gelatin-carbodiimide nanofibers: fabrication, characterization, and modeling of solution parameters

Abstract

This work has focused on in-situ crosslinking of gelatin (G) to produce electrospun scaffold with improved fiber morphology retention and mechanical properties. As per this approach, we prepared G nanofibers through mixing G, 1-ethyl-3-(3 dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) and N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) in the new solvent system. Response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to study the influence of solution parameters on fiber diameter. The morphological structure was examined, and the appropriate level of setting to obtain smooth fibers with a favorable diameter was reported. Results revealed using EDC/NHS for in-situ crosslinking improves the mechanical properties and stability of G fibrous scaffolds significantly. Moreover, the results showed these G fibrous sheets has no toxic effect on cell culture. In conclusion, such G nanofibers with excellent properties may be considered as a candidate material in future studies for biomedical applications.

Keywords:

• Electrospinning
• gelatin nanofibers
• response surface methodology (RSM)
• scaffold
• tissue engineering

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the Institute of Biotechnology and Environment, Sharif University of Technology and the Iranian Biotechnology Development Council for their cooperation and experimental equipment supports during this study.

Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest to declare.