Electrospun PLGA/multi-walled carbon nanotubes/wool keratin composite membranes: morphological, mechanical, and thermal properties, and their bioactivities in vitro

In this work, PLGA, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs), and wool keratin were successfully electrospun to generate a series of PLGA/MWNTs/wool keratin membranes. The morphologies, structures, mechanical properties, thermal properties, and bioactivities of the resulting hybrid fibers were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), tensile testing, and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The TEM results confirmed that the MWNTs and wool keratin particles were effectively incorporated into the composite fibers. The mechanical properties of the composites were significantly enhanced by the addition of the MWNTs. The PLGA/MWNTs/2.0 % wool keratin composite presented the best values of ultimate strength, elongation at break, and Young’s modulus. All of the PLGA/MWNTs/wool keratin composites showed high thermal and thermooxidative stabilities. After mineralization, apatite crystals were deposited on the PLGA/MWNTs/wool keratin membranes, suggesting that the composites possess high bioactivity. Thus, these new ternary PLGA/MWNTs/wool keratin membranes show great potential to meet the demand for GBR membranes.