Obtainment of Aromatic Polyimide Nanofibers and Materials on Their Basis for Cell Technologies

Abstract

Nanofibers with a diameter of 100–300 nm are obtained by electroformation of solutions of polyamide acid based on 3,3′,4,4′-biphenyltetracarboxylic acid dianhydride and o-toluidine in an N,N-dimethylacetamide/ benzene solvent mixture. Thermal treatment of nanofibrous polyamide acid material leads to the formation of nanofibers of aromatic polyimide with a diameter of 100–200 nm. The temperature of the beginning of thermal decomposition of polyimide nanofibers in an argon atmosphere is 537°C. SEM images show that the material based on aromatic polyimide nanofibers preserves its elastic properties even at the temperature of liquid nitrogen. The obtained material is characterized by the absence of cytotoxicity: human fibroblasts cultivated on it are characterized by high proliferative activity.