Modeling Analysis of Silk Fibroin/Poly(ε-caprolactone) Nanofibrous Membrane under Uniaxial Tension

Evaluating the mechanical ability of nanofibrous membranes during processing and end uses in tissue engineering is important. We propose a geometric model to predict the uniaxial behavior of randomly oriented nanofibrous membrane based on the structural characteristics and tensile properties of single nanofibers. Five types of silk fibroin (SF)/poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) nanofibers were prepared with different mixture ratios via an electrospinning process. Stress-strain responses of single nanofibers and nanofibrous membranes were tested. We confirmed that PCL improves the flexibility and ductility of SF/PCL composite membranes. The applicability of the analytical model was verified by comparison between modeling prediction and experimental data. Experimental stress was a little lower than the modeling results because the membranes were not ideally uniform, the nanofibers were not ideally straight, and some nanofibers in the membranes were not effectively loaded.