Morpho-mechanical Analysis of PLA/Fish Gelatin Electrospun Nanofiber Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering
摘要
Morpho-mechanical analysis is a key element in the methodology for design and tailoring scaffolds for Tissue Engineering. In this work, PLA/Fish Gelatin based nanofiber scaffolds were obtained by electrospinning technique. Composition of PLA/Fish Gelatin was changed to evaluate the influence of gelatin content on the morphological and mechanical scaffolds properties. FTIR analysis was used to evaluate the chemical composition of scaffolds. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was used to observe the surface of the scaffolds and to perform a morphological analysis. Average and distribution of fiber size and pore size were obtained, as well as surface porosity. Tensile test was performed to evaluate mechanical properties as elastic modulus, elongation at break and tensile strength. Finally, linear fitting was realized to correlate morpho-mechanical properties. It was found that gelatin content allows the control of scaffolds morphological and mechanical properties. Fiber size from ~166–741 nm were obtained. Pore size measured as equivalent orthogonal area was in the range ~ 0.066–0.76 μm2. Morpho-mechanical analysis showed a correlation between gelatin content and morphological and mechanical properties.