Electrospinning bioactive supramolecular polymers from water.
Electrospinning is a high-throughput, low-cost technique for manufacturing long fibers from solution. Conventionally, this technique is used with covalent polymers with large molecular weights. We report here the electrospinning of functional peptide-based supramolecular polymers from water at very low concentrations (<4 wt %). Molecules with low molecular weights (<1 kDa) could be electrospun because they self-assembled into one-dimensional supramolecular polymers upon solvation and the critical parameters of viscosity, solution conductivity, and surface tension were optimized for this technique. The supramolecular structure of the electrospun fibers could ensure that certain residues, like bioepitopes, are displayed on the surface even after processing. This system provides an opportunity to electrospin bioactive supramolecular materials from water for biomedical applications.
Departments of †Materials Science and Engineering, ‡Chemical and Biological Engineering, and §Chemistry, Northwestern University , Evanston, Illinois 60208 United States.
Alok S
AS
Tayi
E Thomas
ET
Pashuck
Christina J
CJ
Newcomb
Mark T
MT
McClendon
Samuel I
SI
Stupp
D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry; D055664:Electrochemical Techniques; D055095:Optics and Photonics; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D012212:Rheology; D012996:Solutions; D013499:Surface Properties; D014783:Viscosity; D014867:Water
D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D010455:Peptides; D011108:Polymers; D012996:Solutions; D014867:Water