Slit-surface electrospinning: a novel process developed for high-throughput fabrication of core-sheath fibers

PLoS One. 2015 May 4;10(5):e0125407. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0125407. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

In this work, we report on the development of slit-surface electrospinning--a process that co-localizes two solutions along a slit surface to spontaneously emit multiple core-sheath cone-jets at rates of up to 1 L/h. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that production of electrospun core-sheath fibers has been scaled to this magnitude. Fibers produced in this study were defect-free (i.e. non-beaded) and core-sheath geometry was visually confirmed under scanning electron microscopy. The versatility of our system was demonstrated by fabrication of (1) fibers encapsulating a drug, (2) bicomponent fibers, (3) hollow fibers, and (4) fibers from a polymer that is not normally electrospinnable. Additionally, we demonstrate control of the process by modulating parameters such as flow rate, solution viscosity, and fixture design. The technological achievements demonstrated in this work significantly advance core-sheath electrospinning towards commercial and manufacturing viability.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Nanofibers / chemistry*
  • Nanofibers / ultrastructure

Grants and funding

This work was funded in part by the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Technology Innovation Program (http://www.nist.gov/tip), Cooperative Agreement #70NANB11H004. Additionally, co-authors Xuri Yan, John Marini, Robert Mulligan, Abby Deleault, Upma Sharma, Toby Freyman, and Quynh P. Pham received funding in the form of salaries from Arsenal Medical, Inc. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.