TITLE:
Fabrication and characterization of cross-linked gelatin electro-spun nano-fibers
AUTHORS:
Thi-Hiep Nguyen, Byong-Taek Lee
KEYWORDS:
Gelatin, Cross-Linking, Glutaraldehyde
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Biomedical Science and Engineering,
Vol.3 No.12,
December
30,
2010
ABSTRACT: In this study, we developed a fast, simple and novel process to fabricate cross-linked electro-spun gelatin with limited amounts of glutaraldehyde (GA) using trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) as the solvent. Using SEM, the uncross-linked gelatin fibers were determined to have diameters between 50-300 nm, while the cross-linked gelatin electro-spun fibers had diameters between 100-500 nm. FT-IR revealed that the un-cross-linked and cross-linked electro-spun gelatin was fabricated successfully by electro-spinning using TFA as a solvent, which has not been reported until now. Stress-strain curves showed that the addition of small amounts of GA increased the strength of the gelatin by two fold and allowed for the creation of a water insoluble gelatin electro-spun membrane.