AUTHOR=Fortunato Gabriele Maria , Da Ros Francesco , Bisconti Samuele , De Acutis Aurora , Biagini Francesco , Lapomarda Anna , Magliaro Chiara , De Maria Carmelo , Montemurro Francesca , Bizzotto Dario , Braghetta Paola , Vozzi Giovanni TITLE=Electrospun Structures Made of a Hydrolyzed Keratin-Based Biomaterial for Development of in vitro Tissue Models JOURNAL=Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology VOLUME=7 YEAR=2019 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/bioengineering-and-biotechnology/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2019.00174 DOI=10.3389/fbioe.2019.00174 ISSN=2296-4185 ABSTRACT=

The aim of this study is the analysis and characterization of a hydrolyzed keratin-based biomaterial and its processing using electrospinning technology to develop in vitro tissue models. This biomaterial, extracted from poultry feathers, was mixed with type A porcine gelatin and cross-linked with γ-glycidyloxy-propyl-trimethoxy-silane (GPTMS) to be casted initially in the form of film and characterized in terms of swelling, contact angle, mechanical properties, and surface charge density. After these chemical-physical characterizations, electrospun nanofibers structures were manufactured and their mechanical properties were evaluated. Finally, cell response was analyzed by testing the efficacy of keratin-based structures in sustaining cell vitality and proliferation over 4 days of human epithelial, rat neuronal and human primary skin fibroblast cells.