Electrospinning of Crystallizable Polypeptoid Fibers

Michael W Thielke; Christian Secker; Helmut Schlaad; Patrick Theato

doi:10.1002/marc.201500502

Electrospinning of Crystallizable Polypeptoid Fibers

Macromol Rapid Commun. 2016 Jan;37(1):100-104. doi: 10.1002/marc.201500502. Epub 2015 Nov 19.

Authors

Michael W Thielke¹, Christian Secker², Helmut Schlaad³, Patrick Theato¹

Affiliations

¹ Institute for Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry, University of Hamburg, Bundesstraße 45, 20146, Hamburg, Germany.
² Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Department of Colloid Chemistry, Research Campus Golm, 14424, Potsdam, Germany.
³ Institute of Chemistry, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Straße 24-25, 14476, Potsdam, Germany.

PMID: 26583744
DOI: 10.1002/marc.201500502

Abstract

A unique fabrication process of low molar mass, crystalline polypeptoid fibers is described. Thermoresponsive fiber mats are prepared by electrospinning a homogeneous blend of semicrystalline poly(N-(n-propyl) glycine) (PPGly; 4.1 kDa) with high molar mass poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO). Annealing of these fibers at ≈100 °C selectively removes the PEO and produces stable crystalline fiber mats of pure PPGly, which are insoluble in aqueous solution but can be redissolved in methanol or ethanol. The formation of water-stable polypeptoid fiber mats is an important step toward their utilization in biomedical applications such as tissue engineering or wound dressing.

Keywords: biomaterials; crystallization; electrospinning; polypeptoids; thermoresponsive.