IJMS, Vol. 24, Pages 3535: Acceleration of Electrospun PLA Degradation by Addition of Gelatin

IJMS, Vol. 24, Pages 3535: Acceleration of Electrospun PLA Degradation by Addition of Gelatin

International Journal of Molecular Sciences doi: 10.3390/ijms24043535

Authors: Alexandra Bogdanova Elizaveta Pavlova Anna Polyanskaya Marina Volkova Elena Biryukova Gleb Filkov Alexander Trofimenko Mikhail Durymanov Dmitry Klinov Dmitry Bagrov

Biocompatible polyesters are widely used in biomedical applications, including sutures, orthopedic devices, drug delivery systems, and tissue engineering scaffolds. Blending polyesters with proteins is a common method of tuning biomaterial properties. Usually, it improves hydrophilicity, enhances cell adhesion, and accelerates biodegradation. However, inclusion of proteins to a polyester-based material typically reduces its mechanical properties. Here, we describe the physicochemical properties of an electrospun polylactic acid (PLA)–gelatin blend with a 9:1 PLA:gelatin ratio. We found that a small content (10 wt%) of gelatin does not affect the extensibility and strength of wet electrospun PLA mats but significantly accelerates their in vitro and in vivo decomposition. After a month, the thickness of PLA–gelatin mats subcutaneously implanted in C57black mice decreased by 30%, while the thickness of the pure PLA mats remained almost unchanged. Thus, we suggest the inclusion of a small amount of gelatin as a simple tool to tune the biodegradation behavior of PLA mats.