title: Synthesis of nanofibrous gelatin/silica bioglass composite microspheres using emulsion coupled with thermally induced phase separation.
abstract: This study proposes an innovative way of synthesizing porous gelatin/silica bioglass composite microspheres with a nanofibrous structure using emulsion coupled with thermally induced phase separation (TIPS). In particular, a mixture of the solvent (water) and non-solvent (ethanol) was used to induce a unique phase separation of gelatin/silica mixtures (i.e. gelatin/silica hybrid-rich and liquid-rich phases) at -70 °C for the creation of a nanofibrous structure. All the composite microspheres synthesized with silica contents of 10 wt.%, 15 wt.%, and 20 wt.% had well-defined spherical shapes between 124 and 136 μm in size. In addition, they were comprised of nanofibrous gelatin/silica composite walls (several tens of nanometers in thickness), where the sol-gel derived silica bioglass phase was uniformly distributed throughout the gelatin matrix. The in vitro apatite-forming ability and biocompatibility of the nanofibrous gelatin/silica bioglass composite microspheres was significantly enhanced with an increase in silica content, demonstrating their great potential for the promotion of bone tissue regeneration.
authors.affiliation: School of Biomedical Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 136-701, South Korea.
authors.forename: Da-Young
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Noh
authors.affiliation: School of Biomedical Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 136-701, South Korea.
authors.forename: Young-Hyeon
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: An
authors.affiliation: School of Biomedical Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 136-701, South Korea; Department of Bio-convergence Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 136-701, South Korea.
authors.forename: In-Hwan
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Jo
authors.affiliation: School of Biomedical Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 136-701, South Korea; Department of Bio-convergence Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 136-701, South Korea. Electronic address: kohyh@korea.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Young-Hag
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Koh
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, South Korea; Biomedical Implant Convergence Research Center, Advanced Institutes of Convergence Technology, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do 443-270, South Korea.
authors.forename: Hyoun-Ee
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001031:Apatites / Q000737:chemistry; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D002460:Cell Line; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002516:Ceramics / Q000737:chemistry*; D004655:Emulsions / Q000737:chemistry; D005780:Gelatin / Q000737:chemistry*; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008863:Microspheres; D057139:Nanofibers / Q000737:chemistry*; D016062:Porosity; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D001031:Apatites; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; C022107:Bioglass; D004655:Emulsions; D012822:Silicon Dioxide; D005780:Gelatin
keywords: Bioactivity; Bone tissue engineering; Hybrid; Microspheres; Nanofibrous