BACKGROUND Electrospinning is a non-mechanical processing strategy that can be used to process a variety of native and synthetic polymers into highly porous materials composed of nano-scale to micron-scale diameter fibers. By nature, electrospun materials exhibit an extensive surface area and highly interconnected pore spaces. In this study we adopted a biological engineering approach to ask ho...

We report the design, fabrication, and experimental characterization of an externally-fed, silicon batchfabricated MEMS electrospinning planar array with as many as 9 steady-operating emitters in 1 cm – more than a 7-fold increase in emitter density compared to state-of-the-art MEMS multiplexed electrospinning sources. The device simultaneously generates multiple nanofiber jets at 20 kV or less...

Electrohydrodynamic atomization phenomena have increasingly attracted the attention of researchers who are interested in building micro- or nanometer architectures, such as fibers and encapsulated particles with a controllable microstructure. There are two main electrohydrodynamic atomization techniques: electrospraying and electrospinning. These techniques are unique processes in that they pro...

We present a method for the electrospinning of conducting polymeric composite nanofibers using a poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS)-based microfluidic device. To scale-up the process and spin multicomponent systems, we designed a unique multi-spinnerette electrospinning device using microchannels cast in PDMS. Nanofibers of poly (vinylpyrrolidone) and its composite with polypyrrole were successfull...

A new nozzle system for the efficient production of multi-layered nanofibers through electrospinning is reported. Developed a decade ago, the commonly used coaxial nozzle system consisting of two concentric cylindrical needles has remained unchanged, despite recent advances in multi-layered, multi-functional nanofibers. Here, we demonstrate a core-cut nozzle system, in which the exit pipe of th...

Electrospinning uses electrical forces to produce polymer fibres with nanometre-scale diameters. Electrospinning occurs when the electrical forces at the surface of a polymer solution or melt overcome the surface tension and cause an electrically charged jet to be ejected. When the jet dries or solidifies, an electrically charged fibre remains. This charged fibre can be directed or accelerated ...

Electrospinning is a very simple and versatile process by which polymer nanofibers with diameters ranging from a few nanometers to several micrometers can be produced using an electrostatically driven jet of polymer solution or polymer melt. Significant progress has been made in this process throughout the past few years and electrospinning has advanced its applications in many fields, includin...

Despite many of the studies being conducted, the electrospinning of poly (lactic acid) (PLA), dissolved in its common solvents, is difficult to be continuously processed for mass production. This is due to the polymer solution droplet drying. Besides, the poor stretching capability of the polymer solution limits the production of small diameter fibers. To address these issues, we have examined ...

Cellular microenvironments are important in coaxing cells to behave collectively as functional, structured tissues. Important cues in this microenvironment are the chemical, mechanical and spatial arrangement of the supporting matrix in the extracellular space. In engineered tissues, synthetic scaffolding provides many of these microenvironmental cues. Key requirements are that synthetic scaffo...