Electrospinning of Nucleotide‐Based Nanofibers Comprising Ion Complex of Cationic Lipid and Biomass DNA Derived From Salmon Milt

ABSTRACT Non‐woven mats consisting of nanofibers exhibit excellent molecular adsorption due to their large surface areas. Although non‐woven mats using natural resources such as polysaccharide‐ and protein‐derived fibers have also garnered attention recently, nucleotide‐based non‐woven mats comprising DNA molecules have not been progressed. Here, we produced nucleotide‐based non‐woven mats by the electrospinning method using DNA extracted from salmon milt, which is an unused marine resource. Initially, it was tough to produce non‐woven mats consisting solely of DNA. This was probably due to the presence of electrostatic repulsion between phosphate anions of DNA. Instead, we applied an ion complex between cationic alkyl lipids and phosphate anions of DNA and dissolved the complex into alcohol, enabling us to perform electrospinning. The mechanical parameters of the DNA‐based non‐woven mat were superior to those made from spider and silkworm silk that are known to display excellent mechanical toughness as a protein‐based fibers. DNA is not only biocompatible and biodegradable, but also has the ability to bind metal ions and intercalate aromatic compounds. Thus, the DNA‐based non‐woven mats obtained in this study can give insight into the use of DNA as a functional material for recovering harmful aromatic or cationic compounds released into the sea.