Electrospun poly(e‐caprolactone)/propolis fiber morphology: A process optimisation study

Abstract

This study focuses on combining the synthetic polymer poly(Ɛ-caprolactone) with the natural antibacterial propolis, and uses response surface methodology based on a three-level, four-variable Box-Behnken design, to model the dependence of fiber diameter distribution on process parameters. The effect of the concentration of the antibacterial substance, the flow rate, the voltage, and the collector distance were analyzed. The linear coefficients of the antibacterial content and flow rate, and the quadratic coefficients of the voltage, distance and flow rate as well as the interaction effect between voltage and distance were found to be statistically significant. Parameters capable of forming small diameter fibers were targeted for higher surface area to material volume ratios.The parameters predicted to produce a minimum average fiber diameter of 0.506 μm were then validated in a confirmatory experiment giving a 0.505 μm average. The model maps the impact of electrospinning parameters on the fabrication and morphology of PCL/propolis scaffolds, which have potential woundcare applications.

Nanostructured Electrospun Polycaprolactone—Propolis Mats Composed of Different Morphologies for Potential Use in Wound Healing

“…Oliveira et al [21], for example, developed a hydrophilic PVA/CMC dressing with propolis for burn treatment. More recently, Stojko et al [22] and Alberti et al [23] produced PLA and PVA electrospun fibres both loaded with propolis, and Salimbeigi et al [24] produced nanofibres of PCL/propolis using chloroform/methanol (7:3) as system solvent also for wound-healing applications.…”

Optimization of the Centrifugal Spinning Parameters to Prepare Poly(butylene succinate) Nanofibers Mats for Aerosol Filter Applications

“…The percentage of total variability described by the regression model is represented by the measure of goodness of fit, or R 2 [47]. The average fiber diameter variability can be The average diameter of PBS nanofibers ranged from 172 to 349 nm depending on the CS parameters.…”

“…The percentage of total variability described by the regression model is represented by the measure of goodness of fit, or R 2 [47]. The average fiber diameter variability can be explained by the model in 98% of cases, as indicated by the R 2 value, which is around 0.98210.…”

Development of Novel Electrospun Fibers Based on Cyclic Olefin Polymer

“…The general effect of processing parameters, including the applied voltage, the flow rate of the polymer solution, and the needle to collector distance, were investigated and reported in the literature [8,33,34]. For instance, the applied electric voltage interacting with the distance between the needle tip and the collector may result in a different morphological structure of the electrospun fibers [35]. The said electrospinning distance should be optimized considering that too short a distance may cause wetting of the collector by the solvent, which may cause melting of the formed fibers on the collector, whereas too long a distance may form discontinuous fibers [36].…”