Preparation of biopolymer fibers by electrospinning from room temperature ionic liquids.
Electrospinning is a versatile process used to prepare micro- and nano- sized fibers from various polymers dissolved in volatile solvents. In this report, cellulose and cellulose-heparin composite fibers are prepared from nonvolatile room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) solvents by electrospinning. RTILs are extracted from the biopolymer fiber after the fiber formation using a cosolvent. Micron to nanometer sized, branched fibers were obtained from 10% (w/w) concentration of polysaccharide biopolymer in RTIL solution with an applied voltage of 15-20 kV. Cellulose-heparin composite fibers showed anticoagulant activity, demonstrating that the bioactivity of heparin remained unaffected even on exposure to a high voltage involved in electrospinning.
Department of Material Science and Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 110 8th Street, Troy, New York 12180, USA.
Gunaranjan
G
Viswanathan
Saravanababu
S
Murugesan
Victor
V
Pushparaj
Omkaram
O
Nalamasu
Pulickel M
PM
Ajayan
Robert J
RJ
Linhardt
D001704:Biopolymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D002482:Cellulose / Q000737:chemistry*; D004563:Electrochemistry; D006493:Heparin / Q000737:chemistry*; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D010316:Particle Size; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012997:Solvents / Q000737:chemistry; D013499:Surface Properties; D013696:Temperature
D001704:Biopolymers; D012997:Solvents; D002482:Cellulose; D006493:Heparin