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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.

A bioretanning agent was developed as an alternative to conventional synthetic retanning agents to pave the way for sustainability in the leather industry. Tanned solid waste shavings obtained from leather processing was utilized to produce a proteinic sub-structure for constitution building block of the bioretanning agent's backbone. The protein hydrolyzates were acquired with different molecular weights and the hybrid biopolymers were obtained by grafting the hydrolyzates with acrylic acids (AAc) and acrylamides (AAm). To evaluate the properties imparted by the designed bioretanning agent, it was incorporated into the leather in the retanning processes and compared to the control samples fabricated with conventional procedures. Penetration of hybrid biopolymer into the matrix for retanning was achieved easily, and using low and high molecular weight biopolymers have been recorded by 20% and 23% of improvement on the mechanical performance of the leather samples, respectively. The ratio of the hydrolyzate and AAm/AAc was found to be fitted at 1:2 for both. Furthermore, as per the evaluation of the leathers retanned by novel biopolymer, the results were promising in terms of technical viability and revealed that the biopolymer usage could enhance the mechanical performance of the leather while benefiting from the waste-to-wealth approach.

Due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the usage of numerous protective face masks has faced an explosion in demand around the world. Therefore, the need to reduce the environmental pollution caused by disposable single-use face masks has become vital. Recently, alternative raw material solutions have been discussed to eliminate the consumption of single-use plastics. Within this research, gelatin nanofibers were fabricated via centrifugal spinning technique, and filtration media were investigated in terms of air permeability and filtration efficiency. In addition, morphological properties were examined with scanning electron microscopy. Fabricated fibers have a changing average diameter range from 232 to 778 nm, and targeted 95% filtration efficiency was achieved in several compositions. It was proven that biodegradable gelatin nanofibers could be a sustainable alternative for disposable N95 respiratory filters., Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) [TEYDEB-1507, 7200424], This research was funded by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) (TEYDEB-1507), Project number 7200424. We would like to thank Halavet Gelatin, Turkey, for their gelatin supply.

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.

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.