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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Albany, California » Western Regional Research Center » Bioproducts Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #296342
Title: Properties of electrospun pollock gelatin/poly(vinyl alcohol) and pollock gelatin/poly(lactic acid) fibers

Author
item Chiou, Bor-Sen
item Jafri, Haani
item Avena-Bustillos, Roberto
item Gregorski, Kay
item Bechtel, Peter
item Imam, Syed
item Glenn, Gregory - Greg
item Orts, William

Submitted to: International Journal of Biological Macromolecules
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/11/2013
Publication Date: 4/15/2013
Citation: Chiou, B., Jafri, H.H., Avena Bustillos, R.D., Gregorski, K.S., Bechtel, P.J., Imam, S.H., Glenn, G.M., Orts, W.J. 2013. Properties of electrospun pollock gelatin/poly(vinyl alcohol) and pollock gelatin/poly(lactic acid) fibers. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules. 55:214-220.

Interpretive Summary: Most electrospun nanofibers with gelatin use gelatin derived from mammalian sources. However, mammalian gelatin solutions remain a gel at room temperature and to electrospin it at room temperature requires the use of toxic or acidic solvents. In this study, we use fish gelatin as an alternative to mammalian gelatin to produce electrospun nanofibers. Fish gelatin solutions remain a liquid at room temperature. Consequently, for the first time in literature, we were able to blend fish gelatin with poly(vinyl alcohol) and electrospin gelatin-based nanofibers at room temperature by using only water as the solvent. This is a major advantage over mammalian gelatin since we use water as the solvent rather than toxic or acidic solvents.

Technical Abstract: Pollock gelatin/poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) fibers were electrospun using deionized water as the solvent and pollock gelatin/poly(lactic acid) (PLA) fibers were electrospun using 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-propanol (HFIP) as the solvent. The chemical, thermal, and thermal stability properties were examined for the electrospun samples. The electrospun PVA samples generally had thinner and more uniform fibers than the electrospun PLA samples. For the PVA samples, an increase in total solids content and PVA to gelatin ratio generally resulted in higher average fiber diameter values and wider diameter distributions. Pollock gelatin in both types of electrospun samples remained amorphous. The PVA in electrospun samples had comparable melting temperatures to that of neat PVA, whereas the PLA in electrospun samples had slightly lower melting temperatures than that of neat PLA. Also, the PLA in electrospun samples had crystallization temperatures approximately 30'C lower than that in neat PLA. This was due to better alignment of PLA chains during electrospinning, which resulted in the chains being more readily crystallized at lower temperatures. In addition, the electrospun PVA samples completely dissolved in water at room temperature after soaking for one day, whereas the electrospun PLA samples remained intact even after soaking for three days.