Abstract
AbstractDue to their biomimetic properties, electrospun nanofibers have shown great potential in many biomedical fields. However, traditionally‐produced nanofibers are typically two‐dimensional (2D) membranes limiting their applications. Herein, we report a large‐scale synthesis of compressible and re‐expandable three‐dimensional (3D) nanofiber matrices for potential biomedical applications. The reproducible mass production of such matrices is achieved using a multiple‐emitter electrospinning machine with a controlled environment (e.g., temperature, humidity, and air flow rate) followed by an innovative gas‐foaming expansion. The modified 20‐emitter circular array with 3D‐printed needle caps is capable of maintaining stable Taylor cones under extremely high flow rates. The introduction of such an emitter array allows for the production rate of 3D nanofiber matrices to increase by over 800 times while retaining the desired morphological, mechanical, and absorptive properties when compared to ones generated by a single‐nozzle electrospinning setup. Taken together, a feasible, optimized method has been demonstrated for scaling up production of shape‐recoverable, expansile nanofiber matrices, representing a step towards translating such materials into preclinical, large animal testing, clinical trials, and eventually clinical applications.
Highlights
Nanofibers have garnered much attention in recent decades in many fields such as biomedical and food sciences, environmental engineering, and energy.[1,2,3,4,5] There exist many methods to produce nanofibers, such as phase separation, self-assembly, electrospinning, solution blow spinning, rotary/centrifugal jet spinning, pulling, and electrohydrodynamic direct writing.[6,7] Among them, electrospinning, which uses an electric field to draw polymer solutions into continuous nanofibers that are subsequently collected on grounded collectors, is considered one of the most practical methods due to its flexibility, low cost, and ease of use.[8]
While electrospinning from more emitters is one method to enhance production rate, other adaptations manipulating the mechanics of Taylor cones may serve to further enhance the continuous and reproducible production of nanofibers
3D printed needle caps were used to enhance the stability of electrosprayed liquid solutions with high flow rates.[32]
Summary
Nanofibers have garnered much attention in recent decades in many fields such as biomedical and food sciences, environmental engineering, and energy.[1,2,3,4,5] There exist many methods to produce nanofibers, such as phase separation, self-assembly, electrospinning, solution blow spinning, rotary/centrifugal jet spinning, pulling, and electrohydrodynamic direct writing.[6,7] Among them, electrospinning, which uses an electric field to draw polymer solutions into continuous nanofibers that are subsequently collected on grounded collectors, is considered one of the most practical methods due to its flexibility, low cost, and ease of use.[8]. To overcome the above-mentioned problems, different strategies have been developed to address the planar limitations of electrospun nanofiber materials based on sacrificial templating, charge accumulation/electrostatic repulsion, design of special collectors, ultrasound postprocessing, and short nanofiber assembly.[9,10,11,12,13,14,15] these 3D objects were associated with inadequate control of shapes and porosities. The expanded nanofiber matrices after coating with 0.5% gelatin showed superelastic property, high capability of blood absorption, and short blood clotting time.[22] Most recently, 3D nanofiber assemblies with structural and compositional gradients were generated through the transformation of 2D electrospun membranes based on the gas-foaming expansion technique.[23]
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