Mantas de fibras poliméricas biodegradáveis obtidas por Solution Blow Spinning como modelo biomimético de casulos de Rostchildia sp.

Abstract

There has been great interest in the study of biomimetics for several fields of science, such as medical applications. In this work, biodegradable polymeric fiber mats were produced with properties compatible with those found in cocoons of the moth Rothschildia sp. Initially, the cocoon was studied using techniques of thermogravimetry (TG), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and mechanical tensile tests. The results indicated a structure composed of fibroin fibers in a sericin matrix, in addition to hydroxyapatite. The mats were produced from polycaprolactone (PCL) and poly (lactic acid) (PLA) fibers, which have a chemical structure comparable to fibroin, with the addition of hydroxyapatite (HA). Solution Blow Spinning (SBS) technique was used to produce the polymeric fibers with a multinozzle matrix and a rotating collector. After the spinning process, the mats were hot pressed, with processing temperature and number of layers varying in five groups, to form a PCL matrix and produce a structure equivalent to that of the cocoon. The mats were also characterized by DSC, FTIR, SEM and mechanical tensile tests. The chemical composition of the PCL and PLA mats were equivalent to that found in the cocoon, as well as fibrous morphology resulting from the SBS processing. SEM images confirmed the formation of a PCL matrix phase that binds the PLA fibers after the hot press processing. Tensile strength of the mats varied according to the number of layers and processing temperature used. The best results were obtained for mats with six layers of PCL and PLA with the addition of HA, processed in a hot press at 90 ° C, for 30 min. Although the strength of the mats produced were lower than that of the cocoon, the results indicated that this material has a potential to be used in biological media.