Electrospray Deposition of Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) Microparticles: Impact of Solvents and Flow Rate

Abstract

Polymeric microparticles have been shown to have great impacts in the area of drug delivery, biosensing, and tissue engineering. Electrospray technology, which provides a simple yet effective technique in the creation of microparticles, was utilized in this work. In addition, altering the electrospray experimental parameters such as applied voltage, flow rate, collector distance, solvents, and the polymer-solvent mixtures can result in differences in the size and morphology of the produced microparticles. The effects of the flow rate at (0.15, 0.3, 0.45, 0.6, 0.8, and 1 mL/h) and N, N-Dimethylformamide (DMF)/acetone solvent ratios (20:80, 40:60, 60:40, 80:20, 100:0 v/v) in the production of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) microparticles were studied. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to observe changes in the morphology of the microparticles, and this revealed that a higher acetone to DMF ratio produces deformed particles, while flow rates at (0.3 and 0.45 mL/h) and a more optimized DMF to acetone solvent ratio (60:40 v/v) produced uniform spherical particles. We discovered from the Raman spectroscopy results that the electrosprayed PVDF microparticles had an increase in piezoelectric β phase compared to the PVDF pellet used in making the microparticles, which in its original form is α phase dominant and non-piezoelectric.

Advancements and Applications of Electrospray Methods in Skin Tissue Regeneration

“…ES is a versatile technique widely employed in various fields, including tissue engineering, for its ability to precisely control the size, morphology, and composition of particles or fibers. Several parameters play crucial roles in determining the outcome of the ES process, as elucidated by recent studies [33].…”

Futuristic Alzheimer's therapy: acoustic-stimulated piezoelectric nanospheres for amyloid reduction

“…36 Micro/nanospheres of PVDF can be synthesized by adopting various approaches, which include versatile techniques such as electrospraying, non-solvent induced phase separation, microdroplet formation, emulsion and dispersion polymerization, gas atomization, oil-water emulsion and coacervation techniques. [37][38][39][40][41][42][43] In these reported studies, the fabrication of micro/nanospheres was primarily achieved with β, γ, and mixed electroactive phases, depending on the processing conditions and methodology. However, it is noteworthy that in this work, we have reported on the fabrication of PVDF nanospheres comprising the pure δ-phase, using a single-step processing technique (Fig.…”

Glucose Oxidase/Egg White Protein Microparticles with a Redox Mediator for Glucose Biosensors on a Screen-Printed Electrode and a Decomposable Electrode

“…Biomaterial microparticles (MPs) are of great interest in various applications, including encapsulation, tissue engineering, and biosensing, due to their advantageous structural, environmental protection, and functional abilities as a carrier system [ 10 , 11 ]. While the majority of MPs are made from synthetic polymers (such as poly(glycolic acid), poly(lactic acid), poly(p-dioxanone), and copolymers of trimethylene carbonate and glycolide) [ 12 ], exploring the utilization of inexpensive biomaterials is crucial in expanding the possibilities for developing biocompatible MPs with functional properties.…”