Optimization of the Electrospinning Process to Create Pure Gelatin Methacrylate Microstructures for Tissue Engineering Applications

Abstract

Synthetic scaffolds made from electrospun fibres have showed to be a novel method to solve issues related to shortage of donors and other complications. Pure gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) has showed to have excellent compatibility in tissue engineering applications as it closely resembles properties of native extracellular matrix. However, studies of electrospinning of GelMA largely use GelMA blends. In this study, pure GelMA fibres were successfully produced using electrospinning method. To facilitate development of pure GelMA fibers using electrospinning method as well as optimize the process, alterations to significant parameters of electrospinning, including concentration of solution, voltage of power supply, flow rate and temperature was done. It was observed that temperature is a significant parameter in the electrospinning of pure GelMA. A correlation between concentration and fibre diameter was observed that further emphasises the wide usage of electrospun GelMA fibers in tissue engineering application as fibers of differing diameters and mechanical strengths can be produced. This study sets the foundation for the usage of electrospun pure GelMA scaffolds in tissue engineering applications.