Abstract
In recent years there has been a growing interest in the use of proteins as biocompatible and environmentally friendly biomolecules for the design of wound healing and drug delivery systems. Keratin is a fascinating protein, obtainable from several keratinous biomasses such as wool, hair or nails, with intrinsic bioactive properties including stimulatory effects on wound repair and excellent carrier capability. In this work keratin/poly(butylene succinate) blend solutions with functional properties tunable by manipulating the polymer blending ratios were prepared by using 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoroisopropanol as common solvent. Afterwards, these solutions doped with rhodamine B (RhB), were electrospun into blend mats and the drug release mechanism and kinetics as a function of blend composition was studied, in order to understand the potential of such membranes as drug delivery systems. The electrophoresis analysis carried out on keratin revealed that the solvent used does not degrade the protein. Moreover, all the blend solutions showed a non-Newtonian behavior, among which the Keratin/PBS 70/30 and 30/70 ones showed an amplified orientation ability of the polymer chains when subjected to a shear stress. Therefore, the resulting nanofibers showed thinner mean diameters and narrower diameter distributions compared to the Keratin/PBS 50/50 blend solution. The thermal stability and the mechanical properties of the blend electrospun mats improved by increasing the PBS content. Finally, the RhB release rate increased by increasing the keratin content of the mats and the drug diffused as drug-protein complex.
Highlights
As it can be observed, in the spectra acquired after drug release test, the keratin peaks have totally disappeared, suggesting that the drug is probably released as a drug-protein complex through a Fickian diffusion mechanism
Keratin/poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) blend solutions with different blending ratios we cessfully electrospun into nanofibrous mats using HFIP as common solvent
Keratin/PBS blend solutions with different blending ratios were successfully electrospun into nanofibrous mats using HFIP as common solvent
Summary
One of the main challenges facing biomedicine is the need to be able to administer drugs and active ingredients in a controlled and targeted manner. Precision design principles have been recently adopted to develop new methods of administration, which can be varied according to the treatment required, and limit any side effects as much as possible. In the wide spectrum of biomolecules used for biomedical applications, natural proteins such as gelatin, collagen, keratin or silk fibroin are fascinating biomolecules owing to their availability and favorable properties such as biocompatibility, biodegradability and capability to mimic the in vivo environment of the human body [1].
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