Co-electrospun poly(lactic acid)/gelatin nanofibrous scaffold prepared by a new solvent system: morphological, mechanical and in vitro degradability properties

Poly(lactic acid)-gelatin (PLA-GT) core-shell nanofibers were prepared successfully via coaxial electrospinning method using new solvents for dissolving core and shell polymers, dimethylformamide for dissolving PLA and concentrated acetic acid for dissolving gelatin. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) were used to confirm the formation of core-shell structure in the nanofibers with these new solvents. Morphological investigation of the as-spun nanofibers was carried out using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) which revealed a bead-free ribbon-like morphology for PLA-GT core-shell structured nanofibers with an average diameter of 347 +/- 88 nm. Although compositional analysis by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) indicated that PLA content in the prepared core-shell nanofibers was low (approximately 7.8%), the PLA presence in the nanofibers' core could improve their mechanical properties. The nanofibers' shell was crosslinked by glutaraldehyde. In addition to highly preserving nanofibrous and porous structures of the mat, the crosslinking treatment strengthened core-shell nanofibers significantly. In vitro degradation test showed that even after 11 days, the fibrous structure of crosslinked core-shell mat was maintained. The fabricated PLA-GT core-shell nanofibers have potentials in some biomedical applications.