Preparation of a hydrophilic/hydrophobic electrospun PLA mesh by photografting modification with PVA

LAURA TAMAYO; LAURA RIBBA; ENRIQUE CERDA; SILVIA GOYANES

Workshop; II Workshop on Bio-degradable Polymers and Biocomposites; 2015

Polymer nanofibers have attracted increasing attentions in the last years. Their promising characteristics make them optimal candidates for many important applications in which surface wettability is a critical aspect to be considered [1]. Degradable polymers, such as poly(lactic acid) (PLA) have been investigated because of their biocompatibility and the flexibility they offer in terms of degradation profiles. However, the low wettability of PLA nanofibrous mats limits many of their potential applications. Different methods have been proposed to improve PLA electrospun meshes wettability. In particular, Ma et al immobilized no biodegradable hydrophilic polymers onto continuum PLA film surfaces by UV-initiated grafting copolymerization. [2] In this sense, we immobilized poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) onto electrospun PLA fibers surface, obtaining a new nanostructured material with enhanced wettability based on two biodegradable.