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Electrospinning of poly (3-hydroxybutyric acid) and gelatin blended thin films: fabrication, characterization, and application in skin regeneration

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Abstract

A tissue engineering scaffold should mimic the structure and biological function of native extracellular matrix proteins. Electrospinning is a simple and versatile method to produce ultrathin fibers for tissue engineering. Blended submicron fibers of poly (3-hydroxybutyric acid) and gelatin were electrospun using 1,1,1,3,3,3 hexafluoro-2-propanol as solvent. Cross linking of fibers was achieved using glutaraldehyde, and the resultant fibers were tested and analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray diffraction, and Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR).The fibers were found to exhibit good tensile strength. Degradation studies were performed and analyzed using SEM and FTIR and proved the stability of fibers for tissue engineering applications. The fibrous scaffold supported the growth and rapid proliferation of human dermal fibroblasts and keratinocytes with normal morphology, thus proving its reliability in using it as a potential scaffold for skin regeneration.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Dr A. B. Mandal, Director, CLRI, Chennai, for his kind permission to publish this work. Author N. Naveen acknowledges CSIR, Government of India for the financial assistance in the form of Senior Research Fellowship. We sincerely thank Dr. Mary Babu, Kanchi Kamakotti Child Trust Hospital, Chennai for her guidance through the work. We sincerely thank The Director, CTDT, Anna University for their helping us in availing the SEM facility.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bioproducts Lab, Central Leather Research Institute, Adyar, Chennai, India

    Naveen Nagiah & Uma Tirichurapalli Sivagnanam

  2. CavinKare Research Centre, Ekkattuthangal, Chennai, India

    Lakshmi Madhavi & R. Anitha

  3. Conducting Polymers Lab, Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India

    Natarajan Tirupattur Srinivasan

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  1. Naveen Nagiah
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  2. Lakshmi Madhavi
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  3. R. Anitha
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  4. Natarajan Tirupattur Srinivasan
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  5. Uma Tirichurapalli Sivagnanam
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Correspondence to Natarajan Tirupattur Srinivasan or Uma Tirichurapalli Sivagnanam.

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Nagiah, N., Madhavi, L., Anitha, R. et al. Electrospinning of poly (3-hydroxybutyric acid) and gelatin blended thin films: fabrication, characterization, and application in skin regeneration. Polym. Bull. 70, 2337–2358 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-013-0956-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-013-0956-6

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