Electrospun mechanical properties

Kwon K, Kidoaki S, and Matsuda T. Electrospun nano- to microfiber fabrics made of biodegradable copolyesters Structural characteristics, mechanical properties and cell adhesion potential. Biomaterials, 2005, 26, 3929-3939. 

The last method to be discussed, which is used to form polymer/ceramic composites by electrospinning, is extremely different to the methods previously described, but worth mentioning. Zuo et al. [129] used a method to create a composite scaffold that is actually the reverse of what most people are doing. Instead of mineralizing the nanofibers, Zuo et al. actually incorporated electrospun polymer nanofibers into a ceramic bone cement in order to form a composite scaffold. It was found that by incorporating electrospun nanofibers into the cement, the scaffold became less brittle and actually behaved similarly to that of a ductile material because of the fibers. Composite scaffolds with different polymers and fiber diameters were then tested in order to determine which scaffold demonstrated the most ideal mechanical properties. However, no cell studies were conducted and this method would most likely be used for a bone substitute instead of for bone regeneration applications. 

Yang L et al (2008) Mechanical properties of single electrospun collagen type I fibers. Biomaterials 29(8) 955-962... 

Powell HM, Boyce ST (2009) Engineered human skin fabricated using electrospun collagen-PCL blends morphogenesis and mechanical properties. Tissue Eng A 15(8) 2177-2187... 

Chen F et al (2009) Biocompatibility, alignment degree and mechanical properties of an electrospun chitosan-P(LLA-CL) fibrous scaffold. J Biomater Sci Polym Ed 20(14) 2117-2128... 

Yeganegi M, Kandel RA, Santerre JP (2010) Characterization of a biodegradable electrospun polyurethane nanofiber scaffold mechanical properties and cytotoxicity. Acta Biomater 6(10) 3847-3855... 

Electrospinning is not a new technology for polymer fibre production. It has been known since the 1930 s however, it did not gain significant industrial importance due to the low output of the process, inconsistent and low molecular orientation and poor mechanical properties of the electrospun fibres. 

Cheng Mei-Ling, Chen Po-Ya, Lan Chin-Hung, Sun Yi-Ming, Structure, mechanical properties and degradation behaviors of the electrospun fibrous blends of PHBHHx/ PDLLA. Polym. 2011, doi 10.1016/j.polymer.2011.01.039 in press. 

A wide range of biopolymers, both namral and synthetic, have successfully been electrospun into nanofibres. They are different in terms of chemical natore, mechanical property, biocompatibility and bioresorbabUity. Some of the widely used biopolymers are discussed in this section. 

Another study by Hong et al. also reports the preparation of conducting PANI/nylon-6 composites with high electrical conductivity and superior mechanical properties, such as flexibility and lightness [24]. PANI was chemically polymerized on the surface of the nylon-6 electrospun nanofiber webs. The electrical conductivity measurements showed that the conductivity of the PANI/nylon-6 composite electrospun fiber webs was superior to that of PANI/nylon-6 plain-weave fabrics because of the high surface area/volume ratios. The volume conductivities of the PANI/nylon-6 composite electrospun fiber webs increased from 0.5 to 1.5 S cm as the di sion time increased from 10 min to 4h because of the even distribution of PANI in the electrospun fiber webs. However, the surface conductivities of the PANI/nylon-6 composite electrospun fiber webs somewhat decreased from 0.22 to 0.14 S cm as the di sion time increased, probably because PANI was contaminated with aniline monomers, aniline oligomers, and some alkyl chains, which served as electrical resistants. 

Camposeo, A., Greenfeld, 1., Tantussi, E, Pagliara, S., Moffa, M., Fuso, E, Allegrini, M., Zussman, E., Pisignano, D., 2013. Local mechanical properties of electrospun fibers correlate to their internal nanostructure. Nano lett. 13,5056-5062. 

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