Electrospinning and Nanofibres - January 2010

This month we're looking at the technique of electrospinning, along with the nanofibres that it produces.

The technique of electrospinning has been around for over a hundred years. Over time there have been slow and steady improvements to it, but it has remained a fairly low profile method. However, with the rise in popularity of 'nano' over recent years there has been demand for cheap but effective way of producing nano-scale materials. Electrospinning has been found to be able to do just that and so it has experienced a real surge in popularity.

The nanofibres that can be produced through electrospinning have a truly huge range of potential applications - their properties make them suitable for various medical and pharmaceutical applications, sports and protective wear, domestic and automotive filtration, energy applications and processing aids. Further, adding them to various polymer matrices offers a wide range of polymer nanocomposites which makes the scope even broader.

Abstracts

Please see below a selection of abstracts highlighted in the January Newsletter. These are records which relate to electrospinning or nanofibres that have been recently added to the Polymer Library.

Click on the 7-digit accession numbers to find out about ordering a copyright-cleared full text copy of the items shown.

1053891 - SYNTHESIS OF POLYMER-BASED TRIGLYCINE SULFATE NANOFIBRES BY ELECTROSPINNING
The synthesis and characterisation of PEO-based triglycine sulphate(TGS) nanofibres obtained by electrospinning were studied. The fibres, with typical diameters of about 190-750 nm and above several hundred micrometres in length, contained nanocrystals of TGS embedded in the polymer matrix. The obtained nanofibres were characterised by FTIR spectroscopy and the domain structure was examined by piezoforce microscopy. Dielectric permittivity measurements on the TGS-PEO nanofibres showed a characteristic ferroelectric-paraelectric phase transition at around 50 deg C. The significant piezoelectric response obtained on TGS-PEO fibres in combination with the cost-effective synthesis method of electrospinning makes this approach suitable for producing semiorganic nanofibre arrays with enhanced properties. 33 refs.
Journal of Physics D, 42, No.20, 21st Oct.2009, paper 205403, pp.5, ISSN: 0022-3727, DOI: 10.1088/0022-3727/42/20/205403
Isakov D; Martins A M; De Matos Gomes E; Bdikin I; Guimaraes A; Dekola T; Almeida B; Neves N M; Reis R L; Macedo F

1053618 - NOVEL DELIVERY SYSTEM FOR THE BIOREGULATORY AGENT NITRIC OXIDE
Nitric oxide-infused Zeolite A was embedded within porous polylactic acid fibres of a non-woven mat generated by electrospinning and the resulting composite fibres subjected to mild heat treatment, softening the polymer to encapsulate the embedded zeolite and slowing the release of nitric oxide. The composite fibres were characterised by scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive absorption X-ray analysis and shown to be suitable for use as a free-standing bandage, which could be easily handled and manipulated. The rate of nitric oxide release was easily tuned by controlling fibre porosity. The non-woven fabrics were also considered potentially useful as smart textiles, such as nitric oxide-releasing socks for diabetic patients. 72 refs.
Chemistry of Materials, 21, No.21, 10th Nov.2009, p.5032-5041, ISSN: 0897-4756, DOI: 10.1021/cm901358z
Liu H A; Balkus K J

1053573 - ELECTROSPINNING OF NOVEL BIODEGRADABLE POLY(ESTER URETHANE)S AND POLY(ESTER URETHANE UREA)S FOR SOFT TISSUE ENGINEERING APPLICATIONS
Two novel biodegradable, segmented PU elastomers were synthesised from poly-epsilon-caprolactone diol, 1,6-hexamethylene diisocyanate and diester-diphenol or diurea-diol chain extenders and electrospun into engineered scaffolds for soft tissue engineering applications. Electrospinning parameters, such as solution properties (polymer concentration and solvent) and processing parameters (applied electric field, needle to collector distance and solution flow rate) were optimised to produce smooth, uniform bead-free fibres mimicking the protein fibres of native extracellular matrix. The effects of processing parameters on fibre morphology was examined by scanning electron microscopy and average fibre diameter and diameter distribution determined using an image analyser. 44 refs.
Journal of Materials Science. Materials in Medicine, 20, No.10, Oct.2009, p.2129-2137, ISSN: 0957-4530, DOI: 10.1007/s10856-009-3768-3
Caracciolo P C; Thomas V; Vohra Y K; Buffa F; Abraham G A

1053437 - ONE-DIMENSIONAL COMPOSITE NANOMATERIALS: SYNTHESIS BY ELECTROSPINNING AND THEIR APPLICATIONS
An overview of the synthesis of one-dimensional composite nanomaterials by electrospinning via direct dispersion, gas-solid reactions, in-situ photoreduction, sol-gel methods, emulsion electrospinning, solvent evaporation and coaxial electrospinning techniques, and their characterisation by techniques such as SEM, TEM, CLSM and XRD, is presented. Various applications of the nanomaterials are highlighted in terms of electronic and optical nanodevices such as field-effect transistors, chemical and biological sensors, catalysts and electrocatalysts, superhydrophobic surfaces, environmental uses such as adsorption of pollutants, energy uses such as fuel cells, and biomedical uses such as drug delivery and tissue engineering. 283 refs.
Small, 5, No.21, 2nd Nov.2009, p.2349-2370, ISSN: 1613-6810, DOI: 10.1002/smll.200900445
Lu X; Wang C; Wei Y

1053353 - MULTI-JET EJECTION AND FLUCTUATION IN ELECTROSPINNING OF POLYVINYL ALCOHOL WITH VARIOUS NOZZLE DIAMETERS (downloadable pdf available)
Electrospinning is recognized as a simple and easy method to produce fibres with nanoscale diameters. However, the methods for controlling the shape, structure, and uniformity of electrospun fibres have not yet been fully investigated. In this research, the electrospinning jet behaviour, corresponding nanofibre deposition, and average fibre diameter are examined with various nozzle diameters and applied voltages. The fluctuation in the sequence of drop growing, electrospinning, and/or termination of electrospinning is analyzed. We propose two different fluctuations according to the applied voltage and nozzle diameter. The multi-jet ejections that are closely related to the amount of nanoweb deposition and the deposition pattern are explored. 17 refs.
Polymer Engineering and Science, 49, No.11, Nov.2009, p.2286-2292, ISSN: 0032-3888, DOI: 10.1002/pen.21528
Kong C S; Lee S G; Lee S H; Lee K H; Jo N G; Kim H S

1053255 - BUBBLE-ELECTROSPINNING FOR FABRICATING NANOFIBERS
Bubble electrospinning with aqueous solvent is used to fabricate nanofibres within 100nm. The effect of applied voltage on the diameters of nanofibres is experimentally studied, revealing that the higher voltage favors the smaller diameter. Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) with water as solvent is used to produce environmentally benign nanofibres, and the minimal diameter reaches as small as 46.8nm. 27 refs.
Polymer, 50, No.24, 2009, p.5846-5850, ISSN: 0032-3861, DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2009.10.021
Yang R; He J; Xu L; Yu J

1053158 - PREPARATION AND BIODEGRADATION OF ELECTROSPUN PLLA/KERATIN NONWOVEN FIBROUS MEMBRANE
As a kind of natural protein, wool keratin was used to improve the cell affinity of poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA). After small keratin particles were prepared from keratin solution by spray-drying process, they were blended with PLLA solution. PLLA/keratin nonwoven fibrous membrane was produced by electrospinning the blend solutions. The release rate of keratin from the composite membrane was detected by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) after PLLA/keratin membranes were degraded in PBS up to 4 weeks. The chemical compositions of the PLLA/keratin surface were examined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscope. Although more than half of the keratin was removed from PLLA/keratin membrane during the first few hours of degradation, some keratin particles were still embedded in the PLLA fibres. Osteoblast cells were used to evaluate the cellular behaviours of the composite membrane. After 7 days culturing, more cells were observed on PLLA/keratin membranes than on pure PLLA membranes. MTT assay and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity results suggested that keratin could improve the interactions between osteoblast cells and the polymeric membranes. 34 refs.
Polymer Degradation and Stability, 94, No.10, 2009, p.1800-1807, ISSN: 0141-3910, DOI: 10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2009.06.004
Li J; Li Y; Li L; Mak A F T; Ko F; Qin L

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