A Novel Profiled Multi-Pin Electrospinning System for Nanofiber Production and Encapsulation of Nanoparticles into Nanofibers

Abstract

Electrospinning with various machine configurations is being used to produce polymer nanofibers with different rates of output. The use of polymers with high viscosity and the encapsulation of nanoparticles for achieving functionalities are some of the limitations of the existing methods. A profiled multi-pin electrospinning (PMES) setup is demonstrated in this work that overcomes the limitations in the needle and needleless electrospinning like needle clogging, particle settling, and uncontrolled/uneven Taylor cone formation, the requirement of very high voltage and uncontrolled distribution of nanoparticles in nanofibers. The key feature of the current setup is the use of profiled pin arrangement that aids in the formation of spherical shape polymer droplet and hence ensures uniform Taylor cone formation throughout the fiber production process. With a 10 wt% of Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) polymer solution and at an applied voltage of 30 kV, the production rate was observed as 1.690 g/h and average fiber diameter obtained was 160.5 ± 48.9 nm for PVA and 124.9 ± 49.8 nm for Cellulose acetate (CA) respectively. Moreover, the setup also provides the added advantage of using high viscosity polymer solutions in electrospinning. This approach is expected to increase the range of multifunctional electrospun nanofiber applications.

Efficient removal of water bacteria and viruses using electrospun nanofibers

“…1 b). Formation of multiple jets by employing rotating disks, rollers, conical wire coil, balls, rod, twisted wire spinnerets, bubbles and cones have been reported for effective needleless electrospinning used for commercial scale manufacture of nanofibers ( Prabu and Dhurai, 2020 ). Application of this different spinneret shape leads to a variation of nanofiber production rate and fiber morphology ( Munir and Ali, 2020 ).…”

Silver-Deposited Nanoparticles on the Titanium Nanotubes Surface as a Promising Antibacterial Material into Implants

“…Because the incorporation of nanoparticles into the polymer changes the solution's characteristics (solvent volatility, surface tension, and polymer viscosity), they present difficulties in handling existing needle electrospinning systems in nanofibers' production. In needle electrospinning, a sphere-shaped drop with the semi-vertical angle (α) is formed on the nozzle's tip, helping to create a Taylor cone with a minimum tension [42,43].…”

Impact of Apparatus Orientation and Gravity in Electrospinning—A Review of Empirical Evidence

“…Top-down vertical systems tend to produce slightly more imperfect electrospun products as these artefacts have nowhere to go but down to the collector. It has been noted that researchers sometimes prefer the horizontal system [ 28 , 47 , 48 ] or the bottom-up system [ 44 , 49 ] to the top-down system for this specific reason, especially when the electrospinning process is not fully stable.…”

“…There have been conflicting reports on whether gravity is really a factor in melt electrospinning or not. While some studies acknowledge that the gravitational force plays a part in the spinning process [ 49 , 59 , 60 , 61 ], others believe that it is eclipsed by the electrostatic force [ 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 ].…”