Preparation And Characteirzation Of Serial Eiectrospun Zein Nanofibers

The medical textile materials closely related to the biological materials andnanomaterials. The electrospinning as an important technique has been used to fabricatenanofibrous materials. Zein is a byproduct of corn and bio-ethanol production，zeinshows good film-forming，cell biocompatibility and biodegradable. In addition, zein haslow toxicity; zein solution is normally prepared in aqueous ethanol, so it will notinterrupt the adhesion, growth, or proliferation of cells. This topic is based onelectrospinning process, we preparated and characterized serial electrospun zeinnanofibers, namely zein/PVA, zein/drug and zein/HA nanofibrous mats. The three kindsof electrospun zein nanofibers have three application directions, including cell culturesurface material, drug delivery and bone tissue repair material.A kind of repeatability preparation method of electrospun zein/PVA mats wasdeveloped. Furthermore, the physical and chemical characterization properties ofelectrospun zein mats were also analyzed. This study demonstrates the PVA can modifythe brittleness of zein materials, improve the mechanical properties, and hydrophilicperformance. The morphology and activity of mouse embryonic stem cells on zein/PVAmats showed high alkaline phosphatase activityand positive for ESC markers, includingoct4, sox2, klf4, c-myc, nanog, and ssea1.The drug-loaded electrospun zein fiber mats were successfully fabricated byelectrospinning from the neat zein solutions containing drugs in the amounts of10,20,30wt.%(based on the weight of zein). SS, DS and IND were incorporated in the zeinmats with varying water solubility property. The surfaces of drug-loaded electrospunzein mats were smooth, without the presence of aggregated drugs. The chemicalintegrity of all the model drugs was unquestionably sustained after the electrospinningprocess. In vitro dissolution tests, the influence of the molecular weight of the drugs, thesolubility of the drugs within the test medium and the drugs content was investigated.This study proved electrospun zein mats has the potential to act as matrix for drugrelease and the three drug models can be used to adjust the release rate for practical use.Zein/HA fibrous membranes were successfully prepared by electrospinning thezein/HA solution mixed by magnetic stirrer or ultrasonic power. The morphology of zein/HA nanocomposite fibers and the distribution of HA within the fibers electrospunby two methods were researched by Scanning Electron Microscopy andEnergy-dispersive X-ray Spectrum. Biological performances of the control zein andzein/HA membranes were assessed by in vitro culture of human bone mesenchymalstem cells. Results show that both types of the membranes can support cell proliferation.The cells cultured on the zein/HA membranes electrospun by Method I with5wt.%HAshow significantly higher proliferation than those cultured on the control zeinmembranes on the seventh day. The electrospun zein/HA fibrous membranes showpromises for bone tissue engineering applications.