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In the present study, the effect of different ratios of GelMA concentration has been exhibited for wound dressing implementation by the electrospinning method using a new polymer combination of Gelatin methacrylate (GelMA)/Polycaprolactone (PCL)/Chitosan (CS). The nanofiber composites were fabricated due to their biocompatible, biodegradable, improved mechanical strength, low degradation rate, and hydrophilic nature to develop cell-mimicking, cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation. Different concentrations of GelMA were added to the PCL/CS solution as 5, 10, and 20 wt%, respectively, in the formic acid/acetic acid (7:3) solution. A photoinitiator was added to the solution for photo-crosslinking of GelMA. The influence of different solution concentrations (5, 10, and 20 wt%) on the structure’s nanofiber production and fiber morphology was examined. SEM micrographs revealed that varied GelMA concentrations resulted in suitable and stable nanofiber composites. The average diameter of nanofiber composites grows as the GelMA concentration rises. FTIR, DSC, tensile test, degradation, and swelling test were evaluated. The results demonstrated that high mechanical strength, hydrophilic properties, and a slow degradation rate were observed with the presence and increment of GelMA concentration within the nanofiber composites. The antibacterial potential of GelMA/PCL/CS nanofiber composites was evaluated against P. aeruginosa and S. aureus using a disc diffusion assay. In vitro cell culture research was conducted by seeding NIH 3T3 fibroblast cells on nanofiber composites, proving these cells’ high cell proliferation rate, viability, and adhesion. 10 wt% GelMA-based nanofiber composites were found to have great potential for wound dressing applications.

The leather industry is known as one of the potentially hazardous and polluted sectors due to the large consumption of water and chemical materials. There are many companies with a high level of environmental protection systems in the leather industry, with Zero Hazardous Substances Certificate and using chemical materials with exhaustion yield. There is also a great effort to replace and reduce potentially hazardous materials, petroleum origin materials, and solid waste generated by hide processing. It is not only about discharging chemicals to the environment but also about releasing valuable biomass sources (collagen, keratin, etc.). Bovine hair is one of the low biodegradable wastes during bovine leather processing. In this study, bovine hair was converted to keratin hydrolysate (KH) by an alkaline process. KH was selected to enhance the biocompatibility of the hydrogel and grafted with acrylic acid (AA) and acrylamide (AAm) monomers to obtain superabsorbent hydrogels. Polymerization was conducted in the presence of N, N'-methylene bisacrylamide (NMBA) which was used as a cross-linking agent, and ammonium persulfate (APS) as an initiator. Different keratin/monomer ratios, cross-linking agents, and initiator amounts were kept as variables to aim for the highest swelling capacity. Synthesized hydrogels were chemically, morphologically, and thermally characterized via Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), and thermal gravimetric analyzer (TGA). FTIR, DSC, and TGA results confirmed the grafted structure. The maximum swelling ratio was recorded at pH 9, at the end of 48 h as 1791%. Sponge-like hydrogels were successfully synthesized, and waste keratin was successfully valorized through hydrogels which can be used in high-value-added areas such as health, agriculture, hygienic products., Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey [180086], This research is funded by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey under project number 180086. Also, the authors acknowledge Collagen R&D Technology (www.collagenarge.com) for their support.