Electrospinning of gelatin fibers and gelatin/PCL composite fibrous scaffolds

In this article, ultrafine gelatin (Gt) fibers were successfully produced with the use of the electrical spinning or electrospinning technique. A fluorinated alcohol of 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (TFE) was used as the dissolving solvent. The morphology of the electrospun gelatin fibers was found to be dependent on the alteration of gelatin concentration ranging from 2.5% w/v to 12.5% w/v at 2.5% increment intervals. Based on the electrospun gelatin fibers obtained, 10% w/v gelatin/TFE solution was selected and mixed with 10% w/v poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL) in TFE at a ratio of 50:50 and co-electrospun to produce gelatin/PCL composite membranes. Contact-angle measurement and tensile tests indicated that the gelatin/PCL complex fibrous membrane exhibited improved mechanical properties as well as more favorable wettability than that obtained from either gelatin or PCL alone. The gelatin/PCL fibrous membranes were further investigated as a promising scaffold for bone-marrow stromal cell (BMSC) culture. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and laser confocal microscopy observations showed that the cells could not only favorably attach and grow well on the surface of these scaffolds, but were also able to migrate inside the scaffold up to 114 microm within 1 week of culture. These results suggest the potential of using composite gelatin/PCL fibrous scaffolds for engineering three-dimensional tissues.