title: Production and cross-sectional characterization of aligned co-electrospun hollow microfibrous bulk assemblies.
abstract: The development of co-electrospun (co-ES) hollow microfibrous assemblies of an appreciable thickness is critical for many practical applications, including filtration membranes and tissue-mimicking scaffolds. In this study, thick uniaxially aligned hollow microfibrous assemblies forming fiber bundles and strips were prepared by co-ES of polycaprolactone (PCL) and polyethylene oxide (PEO) as shell and core materials, respectively. Hollow microfiber bundles were deposited on a fixed rotating disc, which resulted in non-controllable cross-sectional shapes on a macroscopic scale. In comparison, fiber strips were produced with tuneable thickness and width by additionally employing anx-ytranslation stage in co-ES. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of cross-sections of fiber assemblies were analyzed to investigate the effects of production time (from 0.5 h to 12 h), core flow rate (from 0.8 mL/h to 2.0 mL/h) and/or translation speed (from 0.2 mm/s to 5 mm/s) on the pores and porosity. We observed significant changes in pore size and shape with core flow rate but the influence of production time varied; five strips produced under the same conditions had reasonably good size and porosity reproducibility; pore sizes didn't vary significantly from strip bottom to surface, although the porosity gradually decreased and then returned to the initial level.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Imaging Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, UK ; The School of Materials, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK ; CRUK-EPSRC Cancer Imaging Centre in Cambridge and Manchester, UK.
authors.forename: Feng-Lei
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Centre for Imaging Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, UK ; CRUK-EPSRC Cancer Imaging Centre in Cambridge and Manchester, UK.
authors.forename: Geoff J M
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Parker
authors.affiliation: College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QF, UK.
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Eichhorn
authors.affiliation: Centre for Imaging Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, UK ; School of Psychological Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, UK.
authors.forename: Penny L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Hubbard Cristinacce
keywords: Co-electrospinning; Cross-section; Hollow microfibers; Production time; SEM