Electrospun PVA/Bentonite Nanocomposites Mats for Drug Delivery
Mariola Ferrández-Rives,
Ángela Aurora Beltrán-Osuna,
José Antonio Gómez-Tejedor,
José Luis Gómez Ribelles
Affiliations
Mariola Ferrández-Rives
Center for Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering, CBIT, Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Ángela Aurora Beltrán-Osuna
Grupo de Procesos Químicos y Bioquímicos, Departamento de Ingeniería Química y Ambiental, Universidad Nacional de Colombia-KR 30 45-03, Bogotá 111321, Colombia
José Antonio Gómez-Tejedor
Center for Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering, CBIT, Universitat Politècnica de València, Networking Research Center on Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN), 46022 Valencia, Spain
José Luis Gómez Ribelles
Center for Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering, CBIT, Universitat Politècnica de València, Networking Research Center on Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN), 46022 Valencia, Spain
Electrospun mats and films of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogel are produced for drug delivery. To provide mechanical consistency to the gel a reinforcement by nanoclays is introduced in the polymer matrix. Four different suspensions of nanoparticles in the polymer solution are prepared in an adequate solvent. These suspensions are subjected to an electrospinning process to produce the nanofiber mat, while films are produced by casting. The influence of the process parameters over the nanofibers microstructure is analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The effectiveness of nanoclay encapsulation in the nanocomposites is tested by a thermogravimetric analysis. A crosslinking reaction in solution is carried out to prevent the dissolution of the nanocomposites in aqueous media. A model protein (bovine serum albumin, BSA) is absorbed in the nanocomposites to characterize the release kinetics in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS).
