Electrospinning of circumferentially aligned polymer nanofibers floating on rotating water collector

Abstract

This work outlines a novel electrospinning process using a rotating water collector. The circumferentially aligned nanofibers are successfully fabricated using this process. The movement and conductivity of the liquid collector are considered as the two prime factors to investigate the interaction between electrospun nanofibers and liquid surface. Through the theoretical analysis of the movement of liquid collector, it is confirmed that the liquid flow velocity demonstrates a tendency to decline from the center of the vortex to the edge of the container. Experimental results show that as the fluid flow velocity increases, the alignment of the nanofibers increases as well. In addition, it is discovered that the conductivity of the water collector demonstrates no significant effect on the alignment of nanofibers. However, the solution with higher conductivity can produce a nanofiber mat with smaller dimension. The present study confirms the versatility of the liquid collector and can be used to prepare nanofiber mats with complicated structures. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020, 137, 48759.

Hydrodynamic and electrical interactions in electrospinning of polymer fibers over a liquid collector

“…Our previous research has shown that the flow velocity of the liquid vortex decreases from the vortex center 20 . Furthermore, it was found that the tangential velocity can be used to express the total velocity because of its large order of magnitude.…”

“…It can easily produce standalone fibers because of the easy separation between the fiber and the liquid surface. Additionally, the use of liquid collectors in electrospinning can also produce fibers more effectively with diverse morphologies, such as fiber yarns 19 and circumferentially aligned fibers 20 . Although liquid collectors have several merits over solid collectors, the former have not attracted much attention in previous studies because they exhibit a relatively weaker electrical conductivity than the typical solid collector, making it difficult to quickly transfer the charges carried by the deposited fibers.…”

Utilization of Carbon Nanotubes in Manufacturing of 3D Cartilage and Bone Scaffolds

“…Electrostatic charge is applied to the polymer in liquid form, which is extruded through a small jet, resulting in the nanofibers which are deposited on the metallic collector [ 113 ]. Conventional electrospun fibers can be aligned randomly or in the vertically aligned fashion, creating a tightly packed, 2D mesh which is similar to native ECM of some tissues, e.g., skin [ 114 ]. However, as was noted before, the cartilage and bone are complex hierarchical structures.…”

Altering the characterization of nanofibers by changing the electrospinning parameters and their application in tissue engineering, drug delivery, and gene delivery systems

“…Then, a continuous bundle composed of loosely aligned nanofibers was taken on a rotating roller and it was possible to collect continuously and without interruption for hours. In addition to insulating liquids, conductive liquids, such as an electrolyte solution, have been used as collectors 121 . For example, using an electrolyte solution, the nanofiber deposit can be controlled by changing the salt concentration and creating a nanofiber deposit on the surface of the conductive liquid electrolyte solution 122 …”