Biomimetic Microadhesion Guided Instant Spinning

Nano Lett. 2022 Dec 14;22(23):9396-9404. doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.2c03297. Epub 2022 Nov 21.

Abstract

Animals create high-performance fibers at natural ambient conditions via a unique spinning process. In contrast, the spinning technologies developed by human beings are usually clumsy and require sophisticated skills. Here, inspired by adhesion-based silkworm spinning, we report a microadhesion guided (MAG) spinning technology for instant and on-demand fabrication of micro/nanofibers. Enabled by the adhesion between the spinning fluids and the microneedles, the MAG spinning can generate micro/nanofibers with programmable morphology. By further mimicking the head movement of the silkworm spinning, the MAG technology is extended with three different modes: straight, vibratory, and twisted spinning, which generate oriented fibers, hierarchical cross-linked fibers, and all-in-one fibers, respectively. Due to the prevalence of microadhesion and its unprecedented flexibility in operation, equipment-free MAG spinning is finally realized for instant fiber fabrication by only polymeric foams. Finally, the MAG spinning is demonstrated as a promising instant technology for emergent applications, such as wound dressing.

Keywords: Bioinspired and biomimetic polymer processing; biomedical engineering; equipment-free spinning and microfluidics; microadhesion guided instant technology; silkworm and spider fiber.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Biomimetics
  • Bombyx*
  • Humans
  • Nanofibers*
  • Polymers

Substances

  • Polymers