Injectable hydrogels represent biomaterials attractive for many biomedical applications. Here, a hybrid material composed of dextran‐crosslinked gelatin embedded with ≈100–1 000 µm long, electrospun bovine serum albumin fibers is described. Incorporation of fibers at weight fractions of 1–6% increases the hydrogel elastic modulus by up to ≈40% and decreases the gelation time by ≈20%. The addition of short fibers does not affect the injection of the pre‐gel solution throughout medical needles at moderate shear rates. Finally, viability of seeded fibroblasts confirms the biocompatibility of the composite scaffold. This hybrid represents a class of biomaterials that structurally mimics the ECMs of common tissues and that can be delivered by a minimal‐invasive approach.
Continuous nanofibers consisting of a thermosetic polymer are described. The fibers were obtained using a two-fluid coaxial electrospinning technique. The type of coaxial electrospinning developed in this research is unique, in that the core structure is fabricated from a 100% volume fraction oligomer liquid encapsulated within a polymer shell, instead of a polymer dissolved in organic/aqueous solvents, as is customarily used. The core mass is subsequently polymerized by UV radiation. Post-spinning dissolving of the polymer shell yields defect-free thermosetic polymer nanofibers that have uniform morphology and diameter (50-800 nm). These nanofibers exhibit superior mechanical properties in comparison to those observed in the material bulk form.
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