Modular Approach toward Bioactive Fiber Meshes Carrying Oligosaccharides

A modular strategy toward (bio)functional nanofiber meshes by electrospinning is described. In contrast to commonly established, multistep protocols or complex spinning setups, a straightforward single-step procedure is investigated to obtain polymer nanofibers with pentafluorophenyl (Pfp)-activated esters on the surface. The aim was to electrospin, for the first time, poly(pentafluorophenyl methacrylate) (PPfpMA) and PPfpMA/poly(e-caprolactone) (PCL) blends, resulting in reactive nanofibers with fiber surfaces that can be functionalized with suitable bioactive entities. While PPfpMA fibers are brittle the spinning of PCL/PPfpMA blends leads to improved mechanical stability of the obtained fabrics. The effective introduction of surface functionalities onto the fibers was proven by both model compounds and bioactive monosaccharides. The Pfp-activated esters are enriched at the fiber surfaces and react cleanly with nucleophiles such as 2-aminoethanol, aminofluorescein, or amino-functionalized monosaccharide...