Tunable Spun Fiber Constructs in Biomedicine: Influence of Processing Parameters in the Fibers’ Architecture

Electrospinning and wet-spinning have been recognized as two of the most efficient and promising techniques for producing polymeric fibrous constructs for a wide range of applications, including optics, electronics, food industry and biomedical applications. They have gained considerable attention in the past few decades because of their unique features and tunable architectures that can mimic desirable biological features, responding more effectively to local demands. In this review, various fiber architectures and configurations, varying from monolayer and core-shell fibers to tri-axial, porous, multilayer, side-by-side and helical fibers, are discussed, highlighting the influence of processing parameters in the final constructs. Additionally, the envisaged biomedical purposes for the examined fiber architectures, mainly focused on drug delivery and tissue engineering applications, are explored at great length.

Novel TiO2/TPU Composite Fiber-based Smart Textiles for Photocatalytic Applications

Herein, we prepare a novel hollow composite fiber via a wet-spinning process to overcome separation and recovery problems of nanostructured catalysts. The obtained TiO2/TPU fiber showed excellent mechanical and photocatalytic...

Nonwoven Textiles from Hyaluronan for Wound Healing Applications

Nonwoven textiles are used extensively in the field of medicine, including wound healing, but these textiles are mostly from conventional nondegradable materials, e.g., cotton or synthetic polymers such as polypropylene. Therefore, we aimed to develop nonwoven textiles from hyaluronan (HA), a biocompatible, biodegradable and nontoxic polysaccharide naturally present in the human body. For this purpose, we used a process based on wet spinning HA into a nonstationary coagulation bath combined with the wet-laid textile technology. The obtained HA nonwoven textiles are soft, flexible and paper like. Their mechanical properties, handling and hydration depend on the microscale fibre structure, which is tuneable by selected process parameters. Cell viability testing on two relevant cell lines (3T3, HaCaT) demonstrated that the textiles are not cytotoxic, while the monocyte activation test ruled out pyrogenicity. Biocompatibility, biodegradability and their high capacity for moisture absorption make HA nonwoven textiles a promising material for applications in the field of wound healing, both for topical and internal use. The beneficial effect of HA in the process of wound healing is well known and the form of a nonwoven textile should enable convenient handling and application to various types of wounds.

A Wet-Spinning Process for Producing Carbon Nanotube/Polyvinylidene Fluoride Fibers Having Highly Consistent Electrical and Mechanical Properties

Studies of polymer/carbon nanotube (CNT) fibers typically focus on optimizing the overall properties, and the effects of structural variation on these properties are ignored. Thus, we investigated the longitudinal variation in the properties of CNT/polyvinylidene fluoride (CNT/PVDF) fibers prepared by wet spinning a solution of multi-walled nanotubes, PVDF, and dimethylacetamide. To this end, materials for the CNT/PVDF fiber were selected, and a dope solution was prepared using MWNT, PVDF, and dimethylacetamide (DMAc). To consider the process parameters that would affect the performance of the CNT/PVDF fiber during the wet-spinning process using the dope solution, the initial conditions for wet spinning were selected, including bath concentration, bath temperature, drying temperature, and elongation, and the CNT/PVDF fiber was spun under the corresponding conditions. Additionally, three performance stabilization processes were proposed to improve the initial conditions for wet spinning and manufacturing the fiber. Lastly, to confirm the reliability of the CNT/PVDF fiber in all sections, tensile strength, electrical conductivity, and cross-sectional images were analyzed for the 30 m, 60 m, and 90 m sections of the fiber, and the reliability of the wet-spinning process was verified.