Fabrication of Multilayered Composite Nanofibers Using Continuous Chaotic Printing and Electrospinning: Chaotic Electrospinning

Abstract

Multi-material and multilayered micro-and nanostructures are prominently featured in nature and engineering and are recognized by their remarkable properties. Unfortunately, the fabrication of micro-and nanostructured materials through conventional processes is challenging and costly. Herein, we introduce a high-throughput, continuous, and versatile strategy for the fabrication of polymer fibers with complex multilayered nanostructures. Chaotic electrospinning (ChE) is based on the coupling of continuous chaotic printing (CCP) and electrospinning, which produces fibers with an internal multi-material microstructure. When a CCP printhead is used as an electrospinning nozzle, the diameter of the fibers is further scaled down by 3 orders of magnitude while preserving their internal structure. ChE enables the use of various polymer inks for the creation of nanofibers with a customizable number of internal nanolayers. Our results showcase the versatility and tunability of ChE to fabricate multilayered structures at the nanoscale at high throughput. We apply ChE to the synthesis of unique carbon textile electrodes composed of nanofibers with striations carved into their surface at regular intervals. These striated carbon electrodes with high surface areas exhibit 3-to 4-fold increases in specific capacitance compared to regular carbon nanofibers; ChE holds great promise for the cost-effective fabrication of electrodes for supercapacitors and other applications.

One‐Step Bioprinting of Multi‐Channel Hydrogel Filaments Using Chaotic Advection: Fabrication of Pre‐Vascularized Muscle‐Like Tissues

“…Several prerequisites need to be fulfilled to ensure the successful creation of layered structures that match the architecture predicted by the mathematical model (Figure 1B(I)) used to characterize our system. [18,46] Specifically, the two flowing materials (or "inks") perfused through the KSM should behave as Newtonian liquids (at the extrusion conditions used), they should exhibit similar rheological properties, and they should have interfacial compatibility. The printing conditions must also guarantee operation in the laminar regime (i.e., a Reynolds number lower than 10).…”

Engineering Heart Valve Interfaces Using Melt Electrowriting: Biomimetic Design Strategies from Multi‐Modal Imaging

“…[5] The majority of research surrounding engineering of tissue interfaces relates to soft-hard tissue interfaces in areas such as the ligaments and tendons, [6] cartilages, [7,8] as well as dental, [9] and craniomaxillofacial implants. [10,11] In these applications, heterogeneous scaffolds have been achieved through advanced manufacturing techniques, such as multi-axial extrusion, [12][13][14] varying degrees of crosslinking, [15] two step phase separation, [16] multi-material bioinks, [17,18] and through controlled spatial deposition of biomaterials with advanced 3D printing technologies. [19,20] Fibrous scaffolds and in particular electrospun meshes have been extensively investigated in the field of soft tissue engineering for applications such as skin, [21] neural, [22] vascular, [23] or cardiac tissue, [24] however there is a lacking body of comparable research toward interfacial design.…”

“…[ 5 ] The majority of research surrounding engineering of tissue interfaces relates to soft–hard tissue interfaces in areas such as the ligaments and tendons, [ 6 ] cartilages, [ 7,8 ] as well as dental, [ 9 ] and craniomaxillofacial implants. [ 10,11 ] In these applications, heterogeneous scaffolds have been achieved through advanced manufacturing techniques, such as multi‐axial extrusion, [ 12–14 ] varying degrees of cross‐linking, [ 15 ] two step phase separation, [ 16 ] multi‐material bioinks, [ 17,18 ] and through controlled spatial deposition of biomaterials with advanced 3D printing technologies. [ 19,20 ]…”

A mini‐review of microstructural control during composite fiber spinning

“…14 Other additive manufacturing methods of selective laser sintering, stereolithography and fused deposition modeling (FDM) have all contributed to the user customization of spinneret design for unique fiber microstructures and applications. [15][16][17][18] This mini-review focuses on two primary fabrication methods, solution spinning and melt spinning, which produce continuous micro-scale fibers (diameter between 1 and 1000 μm). Electrospinning and centrifugal spinning are also capable of generating versatile fiber structures.…”

“…Their intricate spinneret design was through Polyjet 3D printing that conventional tooling engineering finds time‐consuming and expensive 14 . Other additive manufacturing methods of selective laser sintering, stereolithography and fused deposition modeling (FDM) have all contributed to the user customization of spinneret design for unique fiber microstructures and applications 15–18 …”