Electrospun and photocrosslinked gelatin/dextran–maleic anhydride composite fibers for tissue engineering

Developing natural polymers-based fibers is highly desirable for tissue engineering. In this study, an effective method to synthesize electrospun gelatin/dextran–maleic anhydride (gelatin/Dex-MA) composite fibers with enhanced physical and biological properties has been proposed. Photocrosslinkable Dex-MA was first synthesized and gelatin/Dex-MA composite fibers were then prepared by electrospinning followed by photocrosslinking. The physical properties of the as-synthesized composite fibers including water absorption, mechanical properties, and degradation were investigated. It was found that the physical properties of the composite fibers could be dramatically improved with the content of Dex-MA, where the tensile strength can be enhanced up to 1.75 MPa and the degradation can be increased up to 40.30%. In addition, the biocompatibility study in vitro showed that the composite fibers could support cell proliferation and adhesion. Our electrospun crosslinked gelatin/Dex-MA fibers are potential to be applied in the field of tissue engineering.