title: Melt electrospinning of biodegradable polyurethane scaffolds.
abstract: Electrospinning from a melt, in contrast to from a solution, is an attractive tissue engineering scaffold manufacturing process as it allows for the formation of small diameter fibers while eliminating potentially cytotoxic solvents. Despite this, there is a dearth of literature on scaffold formation via melt electrospinning. This is likely due to the technical challenges related to the need for a well-controlled high-temperature setup and the difficulty in developing an appropriate polymer. In this paper, a biodegradable and thermally stable polyurethane (PU) is described specifically for use in melt electrospinning. Polymer formulations of aliphatic PUs based on (CH(2))(4)-content diisocyanates, polycaprolactone (PCL), 1,4-butanediamine and 1,4-butanediol (BD) were evaluated for utility in the melt electrospinning process. The final polymer formulation, a catalyst-purified PU based on 1,4-butane diisocyanate, PCL and BD in a 4/1/3M ratio with a weight-average molecular weight of about 40kDa, yielded a nontoxic polymer that could be readily electrospun from the melt. Scaffolds electrospun from this polymer contained point bonds between fibers and mechanical properties analogous to many in vivo soft tissues.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
authors.forename: Ari
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Karchin
authors.forename: Felix I
authors.initials: FI
authors.lastname: Simonovsky
authors.forename: Buddy D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Ratner
authors.forename: Joan E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Sanders
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D002072:Butylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D006801:Humans; D008422:Materials Testing; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008970:Molecular Weight; D011091:Polyesters / Q000737:chemistry; D011140:Polyurethanes / Q000737:chemistry*; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D002072:Butylene Glycols; D011091:Polyesters; D011140:Polyurethanes; C016240:polycaprolactone; C039681:1,4-butanediol