Electrospinning and characterization of chitin nanofibril/polycaprolactone nanocomposite fiber mats

Nanocomposite fiber mats based on biodegradable polycaprolactone (PCL) and chitin nanofibril (n-chitin) were produced via electrospinning. The morphologies, thermal and mechanical properties as well as surface wettability of the fiber mats were studied by scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, dynamic mechanical analysis and static water-contact-angle analysis, respectively. The addition of chitin nanofibrils into PCL resulted in a small change in thermal behavior, but a significant improvement in mechanical properties. Moreover, the surface wettability of electrospun fiber mats transformed from hydrophobicity to hydrophilicity when the chitin nanofibril content was more than 25 wt%. In addition, in vitro cell culture results indicated that the addition of chitin nanofibrils can strongly improve the cellular infiltration and migration confirming that the chitin nanofibril was a good reinforcing as well as bioactive filler for PCL.