title: Electrochromic properties of polyaniline-coated fiber webs for tissue engineering applications.
abstract: By combining the electrospinning method advantages (high surface-to-volume ratio, controlled morphology, varied composition and flexibility for the resulting structures) with the electrical activity of polyaniline, a new core-shell-type material with potential applications in the field of artificial muscles was synthesized. Thus, a poly(methylmethacrylate) solution was electrospun in optimized conditions to obtain randomly oriented polymer fiber webs. Further, a gold layer was sputtered on their surface in order to make them conductive and improve the mechanical properties. The metalized fiber webs were then covered with a PANI layer by in situ electrochemical polymerization starting from aniline and using sulphuric acid as oxidizing agent. By applying a small voltage on PANI-coated fiber webs in the presence of an electrolyte, the oxidation state of PANI changes, which is followed by the device color modification. The morphological, electrical and biological properties of the resulting multilayered material were also investigated.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Materials Physics, RO-077125 Magurele, Romania; University POLITEHNICA of Bucharest, RO-011061 Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: Mihaela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Beregoi
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Materials Physics, RO-077125 Magurele, Romania; University POLITEHNICA of Bucharest, RO-011061 Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Busuioc
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Materials Physics, RO-077125 Magurele, Romania.
authors.forename: Alexandru
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Evanghelidis
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Materials Physics, RO-077125 Magurele, Romania.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Matei
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cellular Biology and Pathology "Nicolae Simionescu", RO-050568 Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: Florin
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Iordache
authors.affiliation: University of Bucharest, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, RO-050095 Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: Mihaela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Radu
authors.affiliation: University of Bucharest, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, RO-050095 Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: Anca
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dinischiotu
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Materials Physics, RO-077125 Magurele, Romania. Electronic address: encu@infim.ro.
authors.forename: Ionut
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Enculescu
mesh_terms: D000814:Aniline Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D057139:Nanofibers / Q000737:chemistry*; D058105:Polymerization; D019904:Polymethyl Methacrylate / Q000737:chemistry; D013499:Surface Properties; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D000814:Aniline Compounds; C416807:polyaniline; D019904:Polymethyl Methacrylate; C023650:aniline
keywords: Artificial muscles; Biomimetics; Electrospinning; Fibers; Polyaniline; Tissue engineering