Surface and Morphological Investigation of Synthesized Nanostructured Ridges from Electrospun Polyvinyl Alcohol-Albumin Blend—A Taguchi Design of Experiment Approach

Jopeth Ramis,Mark Jared Van Ocampo,Bryan Pajarito,Robert Delfin,John Adrian Santos,Crisneil Natividad,Crizaldy Tugade

doi:10.3390/fib8050029

Abstract

We report the synthesis of presumably a “nanoridge” from the electrospinning of a hydrophilic polymer–protein blend. The material exhibits vertical elevation from the substrate, distinct from the morphologies seen in electrospinning. It is hypothesized that the formation of the nanostructured ridges is due to the migration of the charged protein to the apex through a highly polarized electric field in electrospinning conditions. In this study, we assessed the polyvinyl alcohol–egg albumin (PVA–EA) system in a solvent comprising of water, formic and acetic acid, together with the tip-to-collector distance (TCD) and solution flowrate. To quantify the factor effects in the surface properties of the material, a Taguchi design of experiment was used. The ridge heights observed ranged from 84.8–639.9 nm, and the material height is predominantly affected by the PVA–EA ratio and solution flow rate. The root mean square roughness was influenced by the TCD and flow rate, which has values ranging from 11.37–57.56 nm. In evaluating the sharpness of the ridge, we used the radius of curvature, where the TCD highly affects the apex sharpness. The work offers not just a likely new class of morphology, but a new perspective on the surface characterization of an electrospun material which could affect the performance of such a use in biological and physical systems.

Highlights

Electrospinning is one of the simplest ways to produce a nanomaterial: it involves a polymer solution being drawn from a syringe through a high electric field [1,2,3]
We present a method to produce a distinct morphology from a hydrophilic polymer–protein blend using electrospinning, wherein the polymer solution used is a tri-solvent system of deionized water, acetic acid and formic acid
Surfaces produced by the polyvinyl alcohol–egg albumin (PVA–egg albumin (EA)) nanoridges are generally very smooth in definition, with seven samples of roughness of grade number N1 and only one sample of the N2 grade from sample 1; the average roughness ranges from 7.85 to 47.56 nm and the root mean square roughness ranges from

Summary

Introduction

Electrospinning is one of the simplest ways to produce a nanomaterial: it involves a polymer solution being drawn from a syringe through a high electric field [1,2,3]. The adjustment of each polymer content could alter the secondary structure of the material, such as in the polymer blend of polyethylene oxide and polyaniline sulfonic acid, in which the increased polyethylene oxide content increases the loop diameter of the formed helical fibers [10]. Process parameters such as the tip-to-collector distance (TCD), voltage and flow rate can greatly affect the characteristics of the material produced [16,17]

Results

Discussion

Conclusion