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Coaxial electrospinning is an upcoming technology that has emerged from the conventional electrospinning process in order to realize the production of nanofibers of less spinnable materials with potential applications. The present work focuses on the production of chitosan nanofibers in a benign route, using natural polymer as core template, mild solvent system and naturally derived cross-linkers. Nanofibers with chitosan as shell are fabricated by coaxial electrospinning with highly spinnable gelatin as core using aqueous acetic acid as solvent. For maintaining the biocompatibility and structural integrity of the core-shell nanofibers, cross-linking is carried out using naturally derived cross-linking agents, dextran aldehyde and sucrose aldehyde. The biological evaluation of gelatin/chitosan mat is carried out using human osteoblast like cells. The results show that the cross-linked core-shell nanofibers are excellent matrices for cell adhesion and proliferation., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Electrospun gelatin nanofibres attract attention of bioengineering arena because of its excellent biocompatibility and structural resemblance with native extracellular matrix. In this study, we have developed gelatin nanofibres using an innovative cross-linking approach to minimize cytotoxic effects. Gelatin was dissolved in water:acetic acid (8:2, v/v) solution and electrospun to form nanofibres with diameter in the range of 156 ± 30 nm. The nanofibres were cross-linked with a modified polysaccharide, namely, dextran aldehyde (DA). Cross-linking with DA could be achieved without compromising the fibrous architecture. DA cross-linked gelatin nanofibres maintained the fibrous morphology in aqueous medium. These mats exhibit improved mechanical properties and gradual degradation behaviour. The nanofibres were evaluated for cytotoxicity, cell adhesion, viability, morphology and proliferation using L-929 fibroblast cells. The results confirmed that DA cross-linked mats were non cytotoxic towards L-929 cells with good cell adhesion, spreading and proliferation., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)