Preparation of electrospun polycaprolactone nanofibers with water‐soluble eggshell membrane and catechin

Abstract

Abstract The process of incorporating water‐soluble eggshell membrane (S‐ESM) into polycaprolactone (PCL) electrospun nanofibers was investigated using the interaction between S‐ESM and catechin. Electrospinning of the nontoxic natural catechin with PCL was examined, and S‐ESM was introduced into the resulting PCL/catechin nanofibers through hydrogen bonding. S‐ESM was added into PCL/catechin electrospun fibers by immersing the as‐spun fibers in an S‐ESM solution that was prepared by dissolving S‐ESM powder in water with a dimethylformamide cosolvent. Morphological observation suggested that S‐ESM was incorporated with catechin and formed S‐ESM/catechin nanoparticles, distributed in the nanofiber webs. Analysis of Fourier transform infrared spectra indicated that hydrogen bonding interactions were generated between PCL and catechin as well as between S‐ESM and catechin. Water contact angle tests suggested that the presence of S‐ESM/catechin improved the wettability of PCL nanofiber webs. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012