On the electrospinning of nanostructured collagen-PVA fiber mats

Electrospinning fabrication of mats presents new opportunities for flexible manufacturing of hierarchically structured materials. Electrospun mats were fabricated from the solutions of 10 wt% polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and 2 wt% of collagen gel mixed in different mass ratios (50:50, 60:40, 70:30, 80:20, 90:10). The use of 10 wt% PVA aqueous solution leads to stable fiber formation. In the present study we demonstrate that this solution provides a good base to produce collagen-PVA fiber mats by electrospinning. Beadless fibers were formed for collagen concentration not exceeding 0.6 wt% from the whole solution, that corresponds to the 70:30 mixing ratio of the PVA solution to collagen gel. All PVA-collagen solutions were measured to find out the dynamic viscosity at the corresponded shear rate.