Preparation and Characterization of Electrospun Collagen Based Composites for Biomedical Applications

Abstract

Electrospinning is a widely used technology for obtaining nanofibers from synthetic and natural polymers. In this study, electrospun mats from collagen (C), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and a blend of the two (C-PET) were prepared and stabilized through a cross-linking process. The aim of this research was to prepare and characterize the nanofiber structure by Fourier-transform infrared with attenuated total reflectance spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR) in close correlation with dynamic vapor sorption (DVS). The studies indicated that C-PET nanofibrous mats shows improved mechanical properties compared to collagen samples. A correlation between morphological, structural and cytotoxic proprieties of the studied samples were emphasized and the results suggest that the prepared nanofiber mats could be a promising candidate for tissue-engineering applications, especially dermal applications.