Influence of electrospinning methods on characteristics of polyvinyl butyral and polyurethane nanofibres essential for biological applications

Abstract

The diversity of nanofibre properties is caused not only by their chemical composition but also by the way of their preparation. In this study, we examine nanofibre properties resulting from five different electrospinning methods when using polyurethane or polyvinyl butyral. The five electrospinning methods examined were based on (a) alternating current (AC electrospinning) and (b) direct current (Rod electrospinning, Nanospider™ technology, Needle electrospinning, Centrifugal electrospinning). The results, based mainly on the evaluation of images from scanning electron and confocal microscopy, showed clear structural differences between the nanomaterials produced by the various methods. The fibres obtained by the AC method were predominantly fine and disordered with high porosity. In the case of DC methods, which are characterized by a significant difference in productivity, the nanofibers of an accurately defined thickness (Nanospider technology) or very oriented nanofibres with considerable surface roughness (centrifugal spinning) could be prepared. By selecting a suitable method, it should be possible to prepare required nanofibre structures (larger/smaller pore size, specific fibre diameters, etc.) for specific biological applications, sensors, filtration, cosmetic products, drug delivery systems etc.

Keywords

• Electrospinning
• Nanofibre structure
• Image analysis of nanofibers
• Polyurethane nanofibres
• Polyvinyl butyral nanofibres