Electrospinning of 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin aqueous solutions with added salts

It has been proposed that hydrogen bonding plays a role in promoting the electrospinnability of some materials. In this study, the role of non-covalent interactions in the electrospinnability of 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (2HP-β-CD) was investigated by varying the physical-chemical properties the solvents. The rheological behaviour of a peroxide-aqueous/acetone-ethanol/NaHCO3 solution and an aqueous urea solution, as a function of aqueous 2HP-β-CD concentration, was compared. The rheological behaviour of 2HP-β-CD solutions was characterized by a frequency-independent stress relaxation plateau such as that observed in cross-linked polymer networks and reversible polymer gels with non-linear viscoelasticity. We conclude that the electrospinnability of 2HP-β-CD is, as evidenced by the changes in the morphology of the electrospun 2HP-β-CD materials, in agreement with other related studies on the electrospinning of Cyclodextrins. Also, the electrospinnability of 2HP-β-CD does appear to be related to the physical-chemical properties of the solvent systems (