Electrospun Polycaprolactone Nanofibers as a Reaction Membrane for Lateral Flow Assay

Abstract

Electrospun polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibers have emerged as a promising material in diverse biomedical applications due to their various favorable features. However, their application in the field of biosensors such as point-of-care lateral flow assays (LFA) has not been investigated. The present study demonstrates the use of electrospun PCL nanofibers as a reaction membrane for LFA. Electrospun PCL nanofibers were treated with NaOH solution for different concentrations and durations to achieve a desirable flow rate and optimum detection sensitivity in nucleic acid-based LFA. It was observed that the concentration of NaOH does not affect the physical properties of nanofibers, including average fiber diameter, average pore size and porosity. However, interestingly, a significant reduction of the water contact angle was observed due to the generation of hydroxyl and carboxyl groups on the nanofibers, which increased their hydrophilicity. The optimally treated nanofibers were able to detect synthetic Zika viral DNA (as a model analyte) sensitively with a detection limit of 0.5 nM. Collectively, the benefits such as low-cost of fabrication, ease of modification, porous nanofibrous structures and tunability of flow rate make PCL nanofibers a versatile alternative to nitrocellulose membrane in LFA applications. This material offers tremendous potential for a broad range of point-of-care applications.

The Process–Property–Performance Relationship of Medicated Nanoparticles Prepared by Modified Coaxial Electrospraying

“…The past two decades have witnessed the rapid progress of electrosprayed nanoparticles being utilized as functional products in a wide variety of fields [24,25,26,27,28,29,30]. In pharmaceutics, further developments of medicated electrosprayed nanoparticles include creating complex nanostructures (just as its counterpart electrospinning [31,32,33,34,35,36]), production on large scales, potential clinical applications, and commercial products [37,38]. However, the electro–hydro–dynamic working process is still far from being understood, due to the overlap of several disciplines such as fluid mechanics, electric dynamics, and polymer rheology during the extremely fast drying processes of electrospraying [39,40].…”

Electrospin-Coating of Paper: A Natural Extracellular Matrix Inspired Design of Scaffold

“…The porosity of the scaffolds was measured using a Pycnometer (Marienfeld, Lauda-Königshofen, Germany) based on the Archimedes Principle. Absolute ethanol (John Kollin Corporation, Midlothian, UK) was used as the medium and gravimetric displacement of liquid was measured at room temperature [38]. The porosity of the scaffolds was calculated based on Equation (1).…”

Electrospun Environment Remediation Nanofibers Using Unspinnable Liquids as the Sheath Fluids: A Review

“…What is more, when solvents are explored as the sheath working fluids, modified coaxial electrospinning can be utilized to stabilize the working process [32], keep the working processes from clogging, manipulate the nanofibers' diameter without the additions of salt or other additives, and systematically improve the nanofibers' quality. In the traditional blending electrospinning, the working process is regulated by a series of variables, including the properties of the solution, experimental parameters and surrounding conditions [33][34][35][36][37][38][39]. The properties of solution further include the viscosity, conductivity, surface tension, molecular weight of polymer and dielectric constant; the operational variables include flow rate, electric field force, distance between needle and receiving screen, diameter and shape of needle, material composition and surface morphology of receiving screen, and so on; the surrounding parameters include temperature, humidity, wind speed, and maybe the vacuum state.…”