Mechanism of formation of soft and elastic nanoflowers; a key major guideline

Abstract

Water-born flower-like nanostructures have been produced via electrospinning of an innovative bicomponent polymeric solution of cross-linkable amino-functional polysiloxane (X-AFPs) resin and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) in a special condition, after an after-washing process. It is the first report on production of a resin-based flower-like nanostructure as well as a siliconic flower-like nanostructure. It is also a well-engineered water-based green technique. An interesting mechanism has been proposed according to the SEM outcomes as well as the principles of electrospinning. The paper gives an explanation of how some physicochemical phenomena such as specific interactions among the polymeric components as well as high-level differences in terms of electrical charge density, viscosity and elasticity can direct the formation of these amazing structures. Accordingly, this research can be considered as a key major guideline to develop other polymeric flower-like nanostructures and their associated cutting-edge applications. Developing an anti-adhesive membrane was also followed in this research. A super-hydrophobic feature was achieved on the post-treated flower-like structures with a hydrophobic X-AFPs layer, after elimination of the PVA residue. Cytocompatibility as well as anti-adhesive properties of the treated flower-like structures have been assayed and perfectly confirmed through an in vitro study on a highly adherent cell type in a high cell seeding concentration. Accordingly, these three dimensional multiple-scale flower-like nanostructures can be offered for a wide-range of biomedical applications especially for anti-adhesive requirements such as cardiovascular applications and/or controlled cell response approaches.