Patterning of polymer nanofiber meshes by electrospinning for biomedical applications

Nuno M Neves^1,2, Rui Campos^1,2, Adriano Pedro^1,2, José Cunha³, Francisco Macedo³, Rui L Reis^1,2

¹Department of Polymer Engineering, University of Minho, Campus de Azurém, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal; ²3B´s Research Group on Biomaterials, Biodegradables and Biomimetics, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4700-057 Braga, Portugal; ³Department of Physics, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4700-057 Braga, Portugal

Abstract: The end-product of the electrospinning process is typically a randomly aligned fiber mesh or membrane. This is a result of the electric field generated between the drop of polymer solution at the needle and the collector. The developed electric field causes the stretching of the fibers and their random deposition. By judicious selection of the collector architecture, it is thus possible to develop other morphologies on the nanofiber meshes. The aim of this work is to prepare fiber meshes using various patterned collectors with specific dimensions and designs and to evaluate how those patterns can affect the properties of the meshes relevant to biomedical applications. This study aims at verifying whether it is possible to control the architecture of the fiber meshes by tailoring the geometry of the collector. Three different metallic collector topographies are used to test this hypothesis. Electrospun nonwoven patterned meshes of polyethylene oxide (PEO) and poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) were successfully prepared. Those fiber meshes were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Both mechanical properties of the meshes and cell contacting experiments were performed to test the effect of the produced patterns over the properties of the meshes relevant for biomedical applications. The present study will evaluate cell adhesion sensitivity to the patterns generated and the effect of those patterns on the tensile properties of the fiber meshes.

Keywords: electrospinning; biomaterials; patterned non-woven meshes; nanofibers; mechanical properties; cell contact