Abstract
Electrospun fibrous materials have increasing applications in regenerative medicine due to the similarity of fibre constructs to the morphology of certain extracellular matrices. Although experimentally the electrospinning method is relatively simple, at the theoretical level the interactions between process parameters and their influence on the fibre morphology is not yet fully understood. Here, we hypothesised that a design of experiments (DoE) model could determine combinations of process parameters that result in significant effects on poly-D,L-lactic acid (PDLLA) fibre morphology. The process parameters used in this study were applied voltage, needle-to-collector distance, flow rate and polymer concentration. Data obtained for mean fibre diameter, standard deviation (SD) of the fibre diameter (measure of fibre morphology) and presence of ‘beading’ on the fibres (beads per μm2) were evaluated as a measure of PDLLA fibre morphology. Uniform fibres occurred at SDs of ≤500 nm, ‘beads-on-string’ morphologies were apparent between ±500 and 1300 nm and large beads were observed at ±1300–1800 nm respectively. Mean fibre diameter was significantly influenced by the applied voltage and interaction between flow rate and polymer concentration. Fibre morphology was mainly influenced by the polymer concentration, while bead distribution was significantly influenced by the polymer concentration as well as the flow rate. The resultant DoE model regression equations were tested and considered suitable for the prediction of parameters combinations needed for desired PDLLA fibre diameter and additionally provided information regarding the expected fibre morphology.
Highlights
Electrospinning is widely used in the manufacture of biologically relevant scaffolds for cell culture, enabling the formation of micro or nanoscale fibres and porous matrix structures [1]
A design of experiments (DoE) model is an effective approach to identify the most significantly impacting parameters and the effects of parameter interactions on resultant electrospinning PDLLA scaffold characteristics. Identifying these significant parameters can streamline optimisation experiments reducing the time spent on preliminary studies to find the required parameter combination for the desired fibres
By separating the morphological characteristics of the fibre scaffolds, it was clear that polymer concentration plays a vital role in influencing the final fibre morphology and extent of beading
Summary
Electrospinning is widely used in the manufacture of biologically relevant scaffolds for cell culture, enabling the formation of micro or nanoscale fibres and porous matrix structures [1]. Many parameters may change the resultant fibre morphologies; these factors include applied voltage, collector plate distance from the needle, polymer solution concentration, solvent type and flow rate. The interaction between these process parameters is complex, with variation of one factor often altering another, as shown in figure 1 [12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20]. For reproducible electrospinning to occur, the key process parameters must be identified and stably controlled
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