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Updated: Apr 6, 2026
Microfluidic Fabrication of Polymeric and Biohybrid Fibers with Predesigned Size and Shape
Published on: January 8, 2014
Microfluidic Fabrication of Bio-Inspired Microfibers with Controllable Magnetic Spindle-Knots for 3D Assembly and
Xiao-Heng He1, Wei Wang1, Ying-Mei Liu1
1†School of Chemical Engineering, Sichuan University, No. 24, Southern 1 Section, Yihuan Road, Chengdu, Sichuan 610065, P. R. China.
Abstract:
A simple and flexible approach is developed for controllable fabrication of spider-silk-like microfibers with tunable magnetic spindle-knots from biocompatible calcium alginate for controlled 3D assembly and water collection. Liquid jet templates with volatile oil drops containing magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles are generated from microfluidics for fabricating spider-silk-like microfibers. The structure of jet templates can be precisely adjusted by simply changing the flow rates to tailor the structures of the resultant spider-silk-like microfibers. The microfibers can be well manipulated by external magnetic fields for controllably moving, and patterning and assembling into different 2D and 3D structures. Moreover, the dehydrated spider-silk-like microfibers, with magnetic spindle-knots for collecting water drops, can be controllably assembled into spider-web-like structures for excellent water collection. These spider-silk-like microfibers are promising as functional building blocks for engineering complex 3D scaffolds for water collection, cell culture, and tissue engineering.
