Core-Shell Geometry by Post-Treatment of Nanofibers

2 Core-Shell Geometry by Post-Treatment of Nanofibers 

Core-shell nanofibers can also be made by coating the exterior of an electro-spun nanofiber with a polymer solution or other material. This is carried out either by gas-phase or solution deposition (dip coating) on the exterior of electrospun nanofibers. 

Dip coating while simple and cost effective does not always lead to a continuous uniform shell layer as obtained in coaxial electrospinning. A comparison of the relative effectiveness of collagen/PCL core-shell nanofiber mats and coUagen-coated PCL nanofiber mats as scaffolding for human dermal fibroblasts (HDF) was carried out by Y. Z. Zhang et al. (2005c). 

The results showed significantly reduced density of cells attachment on the dip-coated nanofiber mat relative to that on core-shell nanofibers. 

Several techniques for obtaining highly aligned nanofibers have been described in the literature, but not all of them are readily amenable to scale-up. 

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