title: Highly hydrophobic electrospun fiber mats from polyisobutylene-based thermoplastic elastomers.
abstract: This paper is the first report of electrospinning neat polyisobutylene-based thermoplastic elastomers. Two generations of these materials are investigated: a linear poly(styrene-b-isobutylene-b-styrene) (L_SIBS) triblock copolymer and a dendritic poly(isobutylene-b-p-methylstyrene) (D_IB-MS), also a candidate for biomedical applications. Cross-polarized optical microscopy shows birefringence, indicating orientation in the electrospun fibers, which undergo large elongation and shear during electrospinning. In contrast to the circular cross section of L_SIBS fibers, D_IB-MS yields dumbbell-shaped fiber cross sections for the combination of processing conditions, molecular weight, and architecture. Hydrophobic surfaces with a water contact angle as high as 146 ± 3° were obtained with D_IB-MS that had the noncircular fiber cross section and a hierarchical arrangement of nano- to micrometer-sized fibers in the mat. These highly water repellent fiber mats were found to serve as an excellent scaffold for bovine chondrocytes to produce cartilage tissue.
authors: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio 44325, United States.
authors: Goy Teck
authors: GT
authors: Lim
authors: Judit E
authors: JE
authors: Puskas
authors: Darrell H
authors: DH
authors: Reneker
authors: Antal
authors: A
authors: Jákli
authors: Walter E
authors: WE
authors: Horton
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D019902:Chondrocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning / Q000379:methods*; D011090:Polyenes / Q000737:chemistry*; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D011090:Polyenes; D011108:Polymers; C008967:polyisobutylene