The Effect of Flow Rate on Morphology and Deposition Area of Electrospun Nylon 6 Nanofiber

Abstract

Electrospinning is a process that produces continuous polymer fibers with diameters of a nanometric scale. Nylon 6 in formic acid was electrospun to obtain the nanofibers. Fibers with different diameters were obtained using flow rates of 0.1, 0.5, 1 and 1.5 mL/hr, 20 wt% solution concentration, with an applied voltage of 20 kV and 15 cm spinning distance. Flow rate influenced the fiber diameter distribution, droplet size and its initiating shape at the capillary tip, the trajectory of the jet, maintenance of Taylor cone, areal density and nanofiber morphology. The morphology of the electrospun nanofibers was analyzed by using the scanning electron microscope (SEM). The effect of flow rate on the deposition area was also investigated for better control of the process. It was observed that a stabilized Taylor cone, small average droplet size, narrowest fiber diameter distribution, more stability in the originating jet, and uniform morphology of nanofiber is obtained at a flow rate of 0.5 mL/hr.

Engineering of a Stable Collagen Nanofibrous Scaffold with Tunable Fiber Diameter, Alignment, and Mechanical Properties

“…In addition, since the feeding rate is low the droplet suspended at the end of the spinneret is small and the electrospun fibers are dried before they reached the collection drum. This effect results in uniform nanofiber morphology with no bead‐like defects . The tool used for obtaining the average diameters was able of to count between 29 634 and 63 736 data points per image, which provides better confidence in fiber diameter measurements.…”

“…When flow rate is high, larger droplets are produced at the end of the capillary causing the jet solution to be electrosprayed without any sufficient elongation. Thicker fibers are obtained since the electric field strength is not capable of stretching the ejected solution . Our results show that we can finely tune the diameter of the electrospun collagen nanofibers, which might be useful in the regeneration of various types of tissues with different scale.…”

Characterization and in vitro evaluation of electrospun chitosan/polycaprolactone blend fibrous mat for skin tissue engineering

“…Here we report a hybrid fibrous polymer mat for skin tissue engineering which comprises of CS and PCL, fabricated in a modified single solvent system of formic acid and acetone. Various parameters such as [25]. Here an optimal formic acid:acetone ratio and electrospinning conditions were further optimized from previous report [15].…”

Nanostructured scaffold as a determinant of stem cell fate

“…The viscosity of the solution maintains the ejecting fiber without breakages [25]. Voltage applied, flow rate of solution, type of collector, needle diameter, and the distance between the needle and the collector are factors that determine the pattern of the fibers [26]. Environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, and pressure can have some minor effects on the patterning of fibers by electrospinning [27].…”