A novel globular protein electrospun fiber mat with the addition of polysilsesquioxane

Abstract

The aim of this work has been to elaborate well defined gliadin nanofibers with incorporation of inorganic molecules, such as polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS). Nanofibers were obtained by electrospinning processing, controlling the relevant parameters such as tip-to-collector distance, voltage and feed rate. The fiber mats were characterized by SEM, confocal images, DSC, viscosity, FTIR and conductivimetry analysis. FTIR spectra showed characteristic absorption bands related to the presence of POSS-NH(2) within the matrices. SEM micrographs showed that gliadin fibers decreased their dimensions as the amount of POSS-NH(2) increased in the spinning solution. The electrical conductivity of gliadin solutions diminished as the concentration of POSS-NH(2) was increased. Besides, confocal micrographs revealed that POSS-NH(2) might be dispersed as nanocrystals into gliadin and gluten fibers. The dimension of gluten nanofibers was also affected by the POSS-NH(2) concentration, but conversely, this dependence was not proportional to the POSS-NH(2) amount. Somehow, the interaction between gliadin and POSS-NH(2) in aqueous TFE affected the solution viscosity and, as a consequence, higher jet instabilities and thinner fiber dimensions were obtained.

Influence of the drug distribution in electrospun gliadin fibers on drug-release behavior

“…The application of gliadin microspheres as carriers for drug/nutrient delivery have been explored further (Wan et al, 2015). Although there exist several reports on the electrospinning of gliadin, in which acid or basic solutions have been explored as working fluids with the help of additives, such as polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (Soares et al, 2011;Wang et al, 2012), no report has yet to explore the applications of electrospun gliadin fibers in drug delivery to the best of our knowledge. According to the most recent investigations, these medicated gliadin fibers have the potentials to be developed into commercial tablets or capsules (Démuth et al, 2016;Illangakoon et al, 2015).…”

Tissue Engineering

“…The incorporation of plant materials such as wheat gluten and gliadin also may enable the cost-effective production of novel electrospun biomaterials [72,73].…”

High strength poly(vinyl alcohol)/poly(acrylic acid) cross-linked nanofibrous hybrid composites incorporating nanohybrid POSS

“…Wu et al reported on the preparation of nanostructured fibrous hydrogel scaffolds of POSS-poly(ethylene glycol) hybrid thermoplastic polyurethanes incorporating Ag for antimicrobial applications [24]. Soares et al reported a novel globular protein electrospun fiber mat with the addition of POSS, which may extend their use to biotechnology, drug delivery systems, textiles or advanced functional systems [25]. Coleman et al reported the functionalized carbon nanofibers (CNF) with POSS for use as sensors [26].…”