Hydrolytic degradation of gelatin membranes was performed
in a PBS solution at 37 C, and after 15 days a weight
loss of 68% was observed, attributed to solvation and
depolymerization of the main polymer main chains. TGA
studies of gelatin powder and electrospun membranes
showed similar patterns and it was found that the electrospinning
processing conditions do not affect the thermal
degradation of the material. Further, a decrease of the
activation energy was observed for the electrospun samples
as compared to the raw protein. Cross-linking leads,
therefore, to a more disordered structure and to the formation
of polymer networks. Finally, it was found that
electrospinning process does not influence the formation of
the characteristic helical structure between the gelatin
chains.