title: A novel hybrid system for the fabrication of a fibrous mesh with micro-inclusions.
abstract: A novel hybrid system combining microfluidic and co-axial electrospinning techniques has been used to generate different types of fibre structures with varied desirable inclusions using food grade polymers, ethyl cellulose and sodium alginate. The processing conditions in the microfluidic T-junction device, i.e. gas pressure and liquid flow rate were adjusted in order to generate near-monodisperse microbubbles which subsequently serve as a platform for particle generation. These particles exhibit micro-scale diameters and different shapes and some bubbles were incorporated into the fibrous mesh prepared by concurrent electrospinning. The fibre/particle structures obtained with different polymers via this novel method could potentially have many applications in various engineering and biological sectors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University College London, Torrington Place, London WC1E 7JE, UK.
authors.forename: Bilal
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ahmad
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University College London, Torrington Place, London WC1E 7JE, UK; Materials Department, Technical Education Faculty, Marmara University, Goztepe, Istanbul 34722, Turkey.
authors.forename: Oguzhan
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Gunduz
authors.affiliation: Unilever Research, Olivier van Noortlaan 120, 3130 AC Vlaardingen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Simeon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stoyanov
authors.affiliation: Unilever Research, Olivier van Noortlaan 120, 3130 AC Vlaardingen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Eddie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pelan
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University College London, Torrington Place, London WC1E 7JE, UK; Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Oxford, Headington, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK.
authors.forename: Eleanor
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Stride
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University College London, Torrington Place, London WC1E 7JE, UK.
authors.forename: Mohan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Edirisinghe
mesh_terms: D000464:Alginates / Q000737:chemistry*; D002482:Cellulose / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000737:chemistry; D020723:Glucuronic Acid / Q000737:chemistry; D006603:Hexuronic Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D045423:Microbubbles; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared
chemical_list: D000464:Alginates; D006603:Hexuronic Acids; C013517:ethyl cellulose; D020723:Glucuronic Acid; D002482:Cellulose