Preparation and Characterization of Electrospun Polylactic Acid Micro/Nanofibers under Different Solvent Conditions

Abstract

Electrospinning is a versatile and popular method for the fabrication of ultrafine fibers and many parameters in electrospinning can be adjusted when ideal micro/nanofibers are required. In particular, the selection of a proper solvent condition is a fundamental and crucial step to produce electrospun ultrafine fibers. In this study, a commonly used biomaterial, polylactic acid (PLA), was dissolved in 7 different solvents and PLA micro/nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning. The morphology, porosity, mechanical property and static contact angle were characterized to determine the quality of the obtained product. The results show that different solvent conditions have a significant effect on both the diameter, surface smooth degree of PLA micro/nanofibers and the properties of the fibrous membranes.