Ethylene oxide sterilization of electrospun poly(l-lactide)/poly(d-lactide) core/shell nanofibers

Abstract The application of polymers in medicine requires sterilization while retaining material structure and properties. This demands detailed analysis, which we show exemplarily for the PLLA/PDLA core–shell nanofibers with ethylene oxide (EtO). electrospun patch was exposed to EtO gas (6 vol% CO 2 , 1.7 bar) 3 h at 45 °C 75% rel. humidity, followed by degassing under pressure/vacuum cycles 12 h. GC–MS analysis showed that no residual retained. Fiber diameters (~ 520 ± 130 nm) patches remained constant as observed electron microscopy. Young’s modulus slightly increased elongation break decreased, determined 37 °C. No changes were detected 1 H-NMR spectra, molar mass distribution (GPC) or crystallinity measured annealed samples comparable thermal history (Wide Angle X-Ray Scattering). Altogether, emerged suitable method polylactide morphology. Graphic abstract