Needleless electrospun nanofibers containing microcapsules: a methodology for self-supported microcontainers

Abstract

The present paper investigates the facile production of electrospun polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanofibers containing either micro-sized polymer or hybrid capsules, using a needleless electrospinning system. Oilcontaining microcapsules with diameters of around 3 or 10 µm, respectively, were produced via an oil-in-water miniemulsion and mixed with a PVA solution. Appropriate adjustment of electrospinning parameters enabled a controlled assembly of PVA nanofibers into a network containing microcapsules, without damaging their integrity. The PVA nanofibers have diameters in a range of 200-300 nm and showed good homogeneity. The introduction of microcapsules caused an increase in the PVA nanofiber diameters probably due to an increase in the solution viscosity. The production of such self-supported and loaded microcontainers could be of high interest for various applications.

Electrospinning repellents in polyvinyl alcohol-nanofibres for obtaining mosquito-repelling fabrics

“…Incorporating additives into the electrospinning solutions can significantly affect the morphological and mechanical properties of the electrospun nanofibres and structures [24,26]. In this study, adding royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rsos R. Soc.…”

“…In emulsion electrospinning, functional additives are encapsulated and incorporated into nanofibres in a one-step process, making this technique simple and cheap [14]. Moreover, in contrast with micro-capsules, the encapsulated additives do not need active breaking for releasing the additives as they are continuously released through the thin wall of the fibre, which might result in shorter term use [14,26]. Therefore, both techniques have their pros and cons and here, we compared both techniques in the light of repellent integration and efficacy.…”

“…For incorporated PMD micro-capsules, this suggests that these were located in the spaces between the fibres in the nanofibrous structure which can be seen in figure 2 b . However, the standard deviations increased with increasing micro-capsule concentration which may indicate that more and more micro-capsules would fill up the available spaces in the nanoweb, suggesting that higher concentrations of micro-capsules would ultimately lead to significant effects in the mechanical properties [14,26].…”

“…With the current focus on electrospinning, many innovations are made to the electrospinning set-up in an effort to produce functional nanofibrous structure with unique properties [22][23][24][25]. A new innovation is the incorporation of functional additives in the fibre matrix or fibre surface through electrospinning of micro-capsules in the nanofibres mats [26]. This technique provides long-term functionality; however, micro-capsules still need to be actively broken to release the functional additives.…”

Solution‐Spinning of a Collection of Micro‐ and Nanocarrier‐Functionalized Polysaccharide Fibers

“…A few examples of microcarrier‐functionalized fiber materials exist in the literature of which a majority comprise microcarriers added as a finish/coating [ 20,21 ] or embedded in a nonwoven matrix. [ 22 ] Incorporation of microcarriers within the fiber is rare and to our knowledge limited to petroleum‐based thermoplastic melt‐spun fibers containing thermoset—often melamine‐formaldehyde—microcapsules enveloping PCM phases. [ 20 ]…”