title: A computer-controlled near-field electrospinning setup and its graphic user interface for precision patterning of functional nanofibers on 2D and 3D substrates.
abstract: Electrospinning is a versatile technique for production of nanofibers. However, it lacks the precision and control necessary for fabrication of nanofiber-based devices. The positional control of the nanofiber placement can be dramatically improved using low-voltage near-field electrospinning (LV-NFES). LV-NFES allows nanofibers to be patterned on 2D and 3D substrates. However, use of NFES requires low working distance between the electrospinning nozzle and substrate, manual jet initiation, and precise substrate movement to control fiber deposition. Environmental factors such as humidity also need to be controlled. We developed a computer-controlled automation strategy for LV-NFES to improve performance and reliability. With this setup, the user is able to control the relevant sensor and actuator parameters through a custom graphic user interface application programmed on the C#.NET platform. The stage movement can be programmed as to achieve any desired nanofiber pattern and thickness. The nanofiber generation step is initiated through a software-controlled linear actuator. Parameter setting files can be saved into an Excel sheet and can be used subsequently in running multiple experiments. Each experiment is automatically video recorded and stamped with the pertinent real-time parameters. Humidity is controlled with ±3% accuracy through a feedback loop. Further improvements, such as real-time droplet size control for feed rate regulation are in progress.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Irvine, California 92697, USA. gbisht@uci.edu
authors.forename: Gobind
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bisht
authors.forename: Sergiy
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nesterenko
authors.forename: Lawrence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kulinsky
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Madou
mesh_terms: D057205:Automation, Laboratory / Q000379:methods; D004563:Electrochemistry / Q000379:methods*; D013677:Medical Laboratory Science / Q000379:methods*; D057139:Nanofibers / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012984:Software
chemical_list: D011108:Polymers