Needleless electrospinning with twisted wire spinneret

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Biomaterials Engineering

Background:

• Conventional needle electrospinning faces limitations in production rate and scalability.
• Developing high-throughput, scalable methods for nanofiber production is crucial for various applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and characterize a novel needleless electrospinning setup: Needleless Twisted Wire Electrospinning.
• To evaluate the system's efficiency in producing polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP), hydroxyapatite (HA), and bioglass fibers.
• To assess the potential for increased production rates and larger fiber sheet areas compared to needle electrospinning.

Main Methods:

• Development of a robust, simple needleless electrospinning setup utilizing a twisted wire at high voltage.
• Simultaneous formation of multiple Taylor cones on a downward flowing polymer solution.
• Collection of electrospun fibers on a cylindrical collector surrounding the wire.
• Preparation and characterization of polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP), hydroxyapatite (HA), and bioglass fibers.

Main Results:

• Successful fabrication of large PVP fiber sheets (40 × 120 cm², up to 1.15 g).
• Achieved high production rates: 5.23 g/h for PVP and 1.40 g/h for HA.
• Identified polymer solution drying on the wire as a limiting factor, necessitating wire cleaning.

Conclusions:

• The Needleless Twisted Wire Electrospinning system offers a simple and robust method for high-throughput nanofiber production.
• The setup demonstrates significant potential for scaling up fiber production area and rate.
• Further development could overcome limitations like solution drying, enhancing its industrial applicability.