Accuracy of electrospun fiber diameters: The importance of sampling and person-to-person variation

Narayanan, Ganesh; Tekbudak, Merve Yasemin; Caydamli, Yavuz; Dong, Jingyan; Krause, Wendy E.

doi:10.1016/j.polymertesting.2017.04.017

Cited by 22 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…DiameterJ is an open source nanofiber diameter measurement tool which employs the use of Euclidean distance transforms on a binary segmented image of the fibers in order to determine their centerline and diameter. The tool was initially created for the analysis of solution electrospun fibers imaged through electron microscopy and has been used extensively for fiber analysis applications . The tool relies on several sub‐packages such as Segment within the ImageJ/Fiji application to function; conversion from an 8‐bit micrograph to a binary image is achieved using a statistical region merging algorithm to define the threshold between the borders of the fibers and the background (Figs (A)–2(C)).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Melt electrowriting of electroactive poly(vinylidene difluoride) fibers

Florczak

Lorson

Zheng

et al. 2019

Polymer International

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Poly(vinylidene difluoride) (PVDF) has piezoelectric properties suitable for numerous applications such as flexible electronics, sensing and biomedical materials. In this study, individual fibers with diameters ranging from 17 to 55 µm were processed using melt electrowriting (MEW). Electroactive PVDF fibers can be fabricated via MEW, while the polymer can remain molten for up to 10 h without noticeable changes in the resulting fiber diameter. MEW processing parameters for PVDF were investigated, including applied voltage, pressure and temperature. A rapid fiber characterization methodology for MEW that automatically determines the fiber diameters from camera images taken of microscope slides was developed and validated. The outputs from this approach followed previous MEW processing trends already identified with different polymers, although overestimation of fiber diameters <25 µm was observed. The transformation of the PVDF crystalline phase to the electroactive β phase was confirmed using piezo‐force microscopy and revealed that the PVDF fibers possess piezoelectric responses showing d33 ≈ 19 pm V–1. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Melt electrowriting of electroactive poly(vinylidene difluoride) fibers

Florczak

Lorson

Zheng

et al. 2019

Polymer International

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“…The averages from each researcher were used for the comparison to the SIMPoly and DiameterJ measurement methods. In the same way that DiameterJ was validated, manual measurement was not seen as the "source of truth" for the images, however the comparison was made as manual measurements are the most common source of measurements in literature for SEM images [20]. These measurements were also used to compare the variation between researchers for the three measurement methods.…”

Section: Manual Measurement Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A variety of methods exist to quantify fiber size of an electrospun scaffold. Many laboratories, including ours, use image processing programs such as ImageJ to manually measure the diameter of fibers observed in scaffold images taken with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) [ [19], [20]]. However, manual measurement techniques can be timeconsuming and subject to user bias.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Potential bias may affect results from a given user across multiple measuring sessions, and affect measurements taken by multiple users, rendering comparison of results between users difficult [20]. In addition, the timeconsuming nature of manual measurements often means that relatively few images or fibers are actually evaluated [20]. Attempts to address these issues include automating some or all of the image analysis process [ [21], [22], [23]].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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SIMPoly: A Matlab-Based Image Analysis Tool to Measure Electrospun Polymer Scaffold Fiber Diameter

Murphy

Turcott

Banuelos

et al. 2020

Tissue Engineering Part C: Methods

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Quantifying fiber diameter is important for characterizing electrospun polymer scaffolds. Many researchers use manual measurement methods, which can be time-consuming and variable. Semi-automated tools exist, but there is room for improvement. The current work used Matlab to develop an image analysis program to quickly and consistently measure fiber diameter in scanning electron micrographs. The new Matlab method, termed "SIMPoly" (Semiautomated Image Measurements of Polymers) was validated using synthetic images with known fiber size and was found to be accurate. The Matlab method was also applied by three different researchers to SEM images of electrospun PLGA. Results were compared with the semi-automated DiameterJ method and a manual ImageJ measurement approach, and it was found that the Matlab-based SIMPoly method provided measurements in the expected range and with the least variability between researchers. In conclusion, this work provides and describes SIMPoly, a Matlab-based image analysis method that can simply and accurately measure polymer fiber diameters in SEM images with minimal variation between users.

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“…Electrospun composite nanofibers possess great potentialities in biomedical applications, such as tissue engineering [ 2 , 3 , 4 ], wound healing [ 5 , 6 , 7 ], and drug delivery [ 8 , 9 , 10 ], as well as other applications such as magnetism [ 11 ], photonics [ 12 ], filtration [ 13 ], composites [ 14 ], shape memory [ 15 ], and lithium batteries [ 16 ]. The diameter of electrospun nanofibers affects many important properties, such as the melting point, tensile modulus, hardness, drug delivery, biological factors, and cell growth of nonwoven fabrics [ 17 , 18 ]. Research [ 19 ] has demonstrated that fiber diameter plays a key role in cell adhesion, proliferation, and cell migration on the scaffold.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization, Biocompatibility, and Optimization of Electrospun SF/PCL/CS Composite Nanofibers

Chen

Lin

2020

Polymers

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In this study, composite nanofibers (SF/PCL/CS) for the application of dressings were prepared with silk fibroin (SF), polycaprolactone (PCL), and chitosan (CS) by electrospinning techniques, and the effect of the fiber diameter was investigated using the three-stage Taguchi experimental design method (L9). Nanofibrous scaffolds were characterized by the combined techniques of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), a cytotoxicity test, proliferation tests, the antimicrobial activity, and the equilibrium water content. A signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) analysis indicated that the contribution followed the order of SF to PCL > flow rate > applied voltage > CS addition, possibly owing to the viscosity and formation of the beaded fiber. The optimum combination for obtaining the smallest fiber diameter (170 nm) with a smooth and uniform distribution was determined to be a ratio of SF to PCL of 1:2, a flow rate of 0.3 mL/hr, and an applied voltage of 25 kV at a needle tip-to-collector distance of 15 cm (position). The viability of these mouse fibroblast L929 cell cultures exceeded 50% within 24 hours, therefore SF/PCL/CS could be considered non-toxic according to the standards. The results proposed that the hydrophilic structure of SF/PCL/CS not only revealed a highly interconnected porous construction but also that it could help cells promote the exchange of nutrients and oxygen. The SF/PCL/CS scaffold showed a high interconnectivity between pores and porosity and water uptake abilities able to provide good conditions for cell infiltration and proliferation. The results from this study suggested that SF/PCL/CS could be suitable for skin tissue engineering.

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Accuracy of electrospun fiber diameters: The importance of sampling and person-to-person variation

Cited by 22 publications

References 40 publications

Melt electrowriting of electroactive poly(vinylidene difluoride) fibers

Melt electrowriting of electroactive poly(vinylidene difluoride) fibers

SIMPoly: A Matlab-Based Image Analysis Tool to Measure Electrospun Polymer Scaffold Fiber Diameter

Characterization, Biocompatibility, and Optimization of Electrospun SF/PCL/CS Composite Nanofibers

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