title: Atmospheric Pressure Non-Equilibrium Plasma as a Green Tool to Crosslink Gelatin Nanofibers.
abstract: Electrospun gelatin nanofibers attract great interest as a natural biomaterial for cartilage and tendon repair despite their high solubility in aqueous solution, which makes them also difficult to crosslink by means of chemical agents. In this work, we explore the efficiency of non-equilibrium atmospheric pressure plasma in stabilizing gelatin nanofibers. We demonstrate that plasma represents an innovative, easy and environmentally friendly approach to successfully crosslink gelatin electrospun mats directly in the solid state. Plasma treated gelatin mats display increased structural stability and excellent retention of fibrous morphology after immersion in aqueous solution. This method can be successfully applied to induce crosslinking both in pure gelatin and genipin-containing gelatin electrospun nanofibers, the latter requiring an even shorter plasma exposure time. A complete characterization of the crosslinked nanofibres, including mechanical properties, morphological observations, stability in physiological solution and structural modifications, has been carried out in order to get insights on the occurring reactions triggered by plasma.
authors.affiliation: Advanced Mechanics and Materials, Interdepartmental Center for Industrial Research (AMM-ICIR), Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna, Via Saragozza 8, 40123 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Liguori
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry "G. Ciamician", via Selmi 2, 40126 University of Bologna, Italy.|National Consortium of Materials Science and Technology (INSTM, Bologna RU), University of Bologna, Via Selmi 2, 40126 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bigi
authors.affiliation: Advanced Mechanics and Materials, Interdepartmental Center for Industrial Research (AMM-ICIR), Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna, Via Saragozza 8, 40123 Bologna, Italy.|Department of Industrial Engineering (DIN), Alma Mater Studiorum-Università di Bologna, Via Saragozza 8, 40123 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Vittorio
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Colombo
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry "G. Ciamician", via Selmi 2, 40126 University of Bologna, Italy.|National Consortium of Materials Science and Technology (INSTM, Bologna RU), University of Bologna, Via Selmi 2, 40126 Bologna, Italy.|Health Sciences and Technologies - Interdepartmental Center for Industrial Research (HST-ICIR), University of Bologna, Via Tolara di Sopra 50, 40064 Ozzano dell'Emilia, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Letizia
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Focarete
authors.affiliation: Advanced Mechanics and Materials, Interdepartmental Center for Industrial Research (AMM-ICIR), Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna, Via Saragozza 8, 40123 Bologna, Italy.|Department of Industrial Engineering (DIN), Alma Mater Studiorum-Università di Bologna, Via Saragozza 8, 40123 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gherardi
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry "G. Ciamician", via Selmi 2, 40126 University of Bologna, Italy.|National Consortium of Materials Science and Technology (INSTM, Bologna RU), University of Bologna, Via Selmi 2, 40126 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gualandi
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry "G. Ciamician", via Selmi 2, 40126 University of Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Chiara
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Oleari
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry "G. Ciamician", via Selmi 2, 40126 University of Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Panzavolta