Dissolution and Enzymatic Degradation Studies Before and After Artificial Ageing of Silk- or Linen-Reinforced Gelatin Laminates, 1

• Published in: Macromolecular materials and engineering Vol. 288; no. 5; pp. 399 - 406
• Main Authors: Boyanova, M., Stambolieva, N., Apostolov, A. A., Fakirov, S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Weinheim WILEY-VCH Verlag 01.05.2003; WILEY‐VCH Verlag
• Subjects: crosslinking; dissolution; gelatin; laminates; linen; silk; starch
• ISSN: 1438-7492; 1439-2054
• DOI: 10.1002/mame.200390037

In an attempt to overcome the poor mechanical properties of native, i.e., untreated gelatin, laminates based on gelatin and gelatin/starch blend reinforced with fabrics (linen or silk) were prepared by melt pressing. The mechanical properties of fresh and artificially aged samples were reported previously. In the present series of two consecutive papers we present data concerning the dissolution and biodegradation of these laminates. A two‐step procedure for treatment of the laminates was used. The first step is treatment with an aqueous buffer solution, the second with a buffered solution of the enzyme subtilisin. The time‐course of the absorbance at 280 nm of the “washing” solutions was followed. A number of kinetic characteristics was determined and discussed with respect to laminate composition and their treatments. In the present Part 1 about the environmental behavior of these new biodegradable materials, the non‐enzymatic solubilization in water and buffer solution (i.e., simple dissolution) of fresh and artificially aged samples is described. The dissolution process was followed spectrophotometrically as well as by the weight losses. It was found that gelatin‐based silk‐ or linen‐reinforced laminates were subject to dissolution, similarly to the gelatin and gelatin‐based materials studied in previous works. In addition, it was established that the thermal treatment of the laminates during their melt pressing leads to postcondensation reactions and crosslinking of the gelatin macromolecules. Similar reactions occur between the matrix and the reinforcing element silk, thus improving their mutual adhesion. Decreased gelatin dissolution ability was observed after the thermal treatment, in the presence of reinforced fabrics and upon “additional” crosslinking with methylenedi(p‐phenyl) diisocyanate. The untreated gelatin is the only one that dissolves completely in water. The artificially aged samples tend to dissolve better than the respective fresh samples due to degradation processes during aging.