Electrospun chitosan nanofibers for tissue engineering

Abstract

Electro spun nanofibers of blends of natural and synthetic biodegradable polymers have gained great attention due to their extensive biomedical applications in different fields such as tissue engineering, implant coating and drug delivery. A large number of biomolecules, such as collagen, gelatin and chitosan, could be used for nanofiber providing a good candidate for biomedical application. In order to efficiently include bioactive molecules, such as drugs and proteins, in electrospun nanofibers, in present work we proposed the use of crosslinked chitosan nanoparticles (CS) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). Tripolyphosphate (TPP) was used to crosslink CS, allowing absorbance of molecules on CS nanoparticles. CS/TPP nanoparticles were fabricated and used to synthesis CS/TTP/PVA/ nanofibers by means of electrospinning. The produced nanofibers were then characterized by infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The results indicated successful production of nanofibers linked by TPP. These composite nanofibers are promising for their functionalization with adhesive proteins and other functional molecules that contain carboxylic and amid groups, providing therefore an intersting nanostructured biomimetic material.