Fiber orientation on 3D structured collectors for electrospinning

Abstract

Electrospinning, a standard technique for producing nonwoven fabrics, is widely used in the biomedical field. Due to local electric fields, fiber deposition is influenced by 3D surface structure of metallic collectors. For complex shaped structures, predicting the deposition and orientation of the fibers remains challenging. Investigations on well-defined structures permit a more detailed insight. In this study, metal blocks with round, slit and square holes of various sizes and depths were fabricated and covered with a thin layer of polymer fibers. The fiber arrangement of the layer was investigated by different microscopic methods. Analysis of the results showed less deposition on round holes and well-bridged aligned fibers on gaps which were less than four times wide as deep. Experimental results confirmed the theoretical predictions. Considering these findings, further work can be addressed to specific collector design to attain targeted fiber deposition.

Keywords

• fiber alignment
• electric field
• bridging
• hole shape
• gap