Pure chitosan and chitsoan/chitosan lactate blended nanofibres made by single step electrospinning

Abstract

A single step electrospinning of chitosan and chitosan derivative-chitosan lactate nanofibres was studied in this paper. Chitosan was dissolved into acetic acid to produce structure-stable nanofibres. The effect of chitosan concentration and the content of acetic acid on the fibre diameter and morphology of nanofibres were studied in detail. The dynamic viscosity and surface tension of the electrospinning chitosan solutions were systematically studied as well. Based on the fundamental study on electrospinning chitosan in acetic acid, a chitosan derivative, chitosan lactate, was added to produce nanofibre in a pH-friendly aqueous environment. Chemical and morphological analyses demonstrated that chitosan lactate will positively influence the formation of nanofibres in higher pH condition although the morphology should be improved.