title: Melt electrospinning of poly(ε-caprolactone) scaffolds: phenomenological observations associated with collection and direct writing.
abstract: Melt electrospinning and its additive manufacturing analogue, melt electrospinning writing (MEW), are two processes which can produce porous materials for applications where solvent toxicity and accumulation in solution electrospinning are problematic. This study explores the melt electrospinning of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) scaffolds, specifically for applications in tissue engineering. The research described here aims to inform researchers interested in melt electrospinning about technical aspects of the process. This includes rapid fiber characterization using glass microscope slides, allowing influential processing parameters on fiber morphology to be assessed, as well as observed fiber collection phenomena on different collector substrates. The distribution and alignment of melt electrospun PCL fibers can be controlled to a certain degree using patterned collectors to create large numbers of scaffolds with shaped macroporous architectures. However, the buildup of residual charge in the collected fibers limits the achievable thickness of the porous template through such scaffolds. One challenge identified for MEW is the ability to control charge buildup so that fibers can be placed accurately in close proximity, and in many centimeter heights. The scale and size of scaffolds produced using MEW, however, indicate that this emerging process will fill a technological niche in biofabrication.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, 60 Musk Avenue, Kelvin Grove 4059, Australia.
authors.forename: Toby D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.affiliation: Institute for Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, 60 Musk Avenue, Kelvin Grove 4059, Australia.
authors.forename: Fredrik
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Edin
authors.affiliation: Institute for Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, 60 Musk Avenue, Kelvin Grove 4059, Australia.
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Detta
authors.affiliation: Institute for Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, 60 Musk Avenue, Kelvin Grove 4059, Australia.
authors.forename: Anthony D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Skelton
authors.affiliation: Institute for Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, 60 Musk Avenue, Kelvin Grove 4059, Australia; Institute for Advanced Study, Technical University Munich, Lichtenbergstraße 2a, 85748 Garching, Germany; George W Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 801 Ferst Drive Northwest, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA. Electronic address: dietmar.hutmacher@qut.edu.au.
authors.forename: Dietmar W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Hutmacher
authors.affiliation: Institute for Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, 60 Musk Avenue, Kelvin Grove 4059, Australia; Department of Functional Materials in Medicine and Dentistry, University of Würzburg, Pleicherwall 2, 97070 Würzburg, Germany. Electronic address: daltonlab@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Paul D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Dalton
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D057446:Hydrodynamics; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D011091:Polyesters / Q000737:chemistry*; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds; D014956:Writing
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D011091:Polyesters; C016240:polycaprolactone
keywords: 3D printing; Additive manufacturing; Electrohydrodynamic writing; Electrospinning; Fibers; Tissue engineering