Protein–polymer co-induced exfoliated layered silicate structure based nanofibrous mats and their cytotoxicity

Abstract

In this study, albumin egg (AE) induced layered rectorite (REC) to exfoliate by electrostatic forces between the molecular chains of AE and the interlayer of REC, which was confirmed by small angle X-ray diffraction. The composite nanofibrous mats with the exfoliated layered rectorite were successfully fabricated via electrospinning poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/AE/REC solutions with different mass ratios. The morphology of the nanofibrous membranes was examined by field emission scanning electron microscopy. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectra showed the existence of REC in the composite nanofibrous mats. Besides, the wide angle X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectra results demonstrated the crystalline structure of PVA was changed by formic acid. The differential scanning calorimetry and the thermo-gravimetric analysis results suggested that REC could slightly improve the thermal stability of the composite nanofibrous mats. MTT assay showed the nanofibrous mats were nontoxic and beneficial to the proliferation of L929 cells.