Effect of vapor-phase glutaraldehyde crosslinking on electrospun starch fibers

•The exposed hydroxyl groups made electrospun starch fibers are water sensitive.•The electrospun starch fibers are crosslinked by glutaraldehyde (GTA) vapor.•The interaction between aldehyde group of GTA and hydroxyl of starch was formed.•GTA crosslink improves water sensitive and mechanical property of starch fibers.•Expand the possibility of starch fiber applications in some fields.

In this work, we have proven that starch nanofibrous membranes with high tensile strength, water stability and non-cytotoxicity can be produced by electrospinning of starch solution and post-treatment with GTA in vapor phase. GTA vapor phase crosslinking plays a key role in forming water-stable nanofiber membrane and improving the mechanical properties. Comparing with non-crosslinked starch fibers, the crosslinked fibers are increased by nearly 10 times in tensile strength. The crosslinked starch fibrous membranes are non-cytotoxic. They may find applications in the fields of tissue engineering, pharmaceutical therapy and medical.