Synthesis of nanofibrous gelatin/silica bioglass composite microspheres using emulsion coupled with thermally induced phase separation

This study proposes an innovative way of synthesizing porous gelatin/silica bioglass composite microspheres with a nanofibrous structure using emulsion coupled with thermally induced phase separation (TIPS). In particular, a mixture of the solvent (water) and non-solvent (ethanol) was used to induce a unique phase separation of gelatin/silica mixtures (i.e. gelatin/silica hybrid-rich and liquid-rich phases) at - 70 °C for the creation of a nanofibrous structure. All the composite microspheres synthesized with silica contents of 10 wt.%, 15 wt.%, and 20 wt.% had well-defined spherical shapes between 124 and 136 μm in size. In addition, they were comprised of nanofibrous gelatin/silica composite walls (several tens of nanometers in thickness), where the sol-gel derived silica bioglass phase was uniformly distributed throughout the gelatin matrix. The in vitro apatite-forming ability and biocompatibility of the nanofibrous gelatin/silica bioglass composite microspheres was significantly enhanced with an increase in silica content, demonstrating their great potential for the promotion of bone tissue regeneration.