Evaluation of electrospun nanofiber pore structure parameters

Mohammad Ziabari; Vahid Mottaghitalab; Akbar Khodaparast Haghi

Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering, Vol.25, No.4, 923-932, July, 2008

DOI10.1007/s11814-008-0151-x Export Citation

Evaluation of electrospun nanofiber pore structure parameters

Mohammad Ziabari, Vahid Mottaghitalab, and Akbar Khodaparast Haghi^†

University of Guilan, P. O. Box 3756, Rasht, Iran

E-mail:

Nanofibers produced by electrospinning method are widely used for drug delivery, as tissue scaffolding materials and filtration purposes where specific pore characteristics are required. For continued growth in these areas, it is critical that the nanofibers be properly designed for these applications to prevent failure. Most of the current methods only provide an indirect way of determining pore structure parameters and contain inherent disadvantages. In this study, we developed a novel image analysis method for measuring pore characteristics of electrospun nanofiber webs. Five electrospun webs with different pore characteristics were analyzed by this method. The method is direct, very fast, and presents valuable and comprehensive information regarding pore structure parameters of the webs. Two sets of simulated images were generated to study the effects of web density, fiber diameter and its variations on pore characteristics. The results indicated that web density and fiber diameter significantly influence the pore characteristics, whereas the effect of fiber diameter variations was insignificant.

Keywords:Nanofibers;Electrospinning;Image Analysis;Porosity;Pore Size

[References]

Haghi AK, Akbari M, Phys. Status Solidi A-Appl. Res., 204, 1830 (2007)
Ziabari M, Mottaghitalab V, Haghi AK, Korean J. Chem. Eng., 25(4), 919 (2008)
Reneker DH, Chun I, Nanotechnology, 7, 216 (1996)
Fong H, Reneker DH, Electrospinning and the formation of nanofibers, In: D. R. Salem, Structure formation in polymeric Fibers, Hanser, Cincinnati (2001)
Subbiah T, Bhat GS, Tock RW, Pararneswaran S, Ramkumar SS, J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 96(2), 557 (2005)
Frenot A, Chronakis IS, Curr. Opin. Colloid Interface Sci., 8, 64 (2003)
Park HS, Park YO, Korean J. Chem. Eng., 22(1), 165 (2005)
Kim GT, Hwang YJ, Ahn YC, Shin HS, Lee JK, Sung CM, Korean J. Chem. Eng., 22(1), 147 (2005)
Kim GT, Lee JS, Shin JH, Ahn YC, Hwang YJ, Shin HS, Lee JK, Sung CM, Korean J. Chem. Eng., 22(5), 783 (2005)
Casper CL, Stephens JS, Tassi NG, Chase DB, Rabolt JF, Macromolecules, 37(2), 573 (2004)
Dierickx W, Geotext. Geomembranes, 17, 231 (1999)
Bhatia SK, Smith JL, Geosynth. Int., 3, 155 (1996)
Bhatia SK, Smith JL, Geosynth. Int., 3, 301 (1996)
Ho ST, Hutmacher DW, Biomaterials, 27, 1362 (2006)
Aydilek AH, Edil TB, Geotech. Test. J., 27, 1 (2004)
Aydilek AH, Oguz SH, Edil TB, J. Comput. Civil Eng., 280 (2002)
Gonzalez RC, Woods RE, Digital image processing, 2nd Ed., Prentice Hall, New Jersey (2001)
Jahne B, Digital image processing, 5th Ed., Springer, Germany (2002)
Kim HS, Pourdeyhimi B, Intern. Nonwoven J., 15-19 (Winter 2000)
Abdel-Ghani MS, Davis GA, Chem. Eng. Sci., 40, 117 (1985)
Pourdeyhimi B, Ramanathan R, Dent R, Text. Res. J., 66, 713 (1996)

[Referenced By]

[1] Haghi AK, Akbari M, Phys. Status Solidi A-Appl. Res., 204, 1830 (2007)

[2] Ziabari M, Mottaghitalab V, Haghi AK, Korean J. Chem. Eng., 25(4), 919 (2008)

[3] Reneker DH, Chun I, Nanotechnology, 7, 216 (1996)

[4] Fong H, Reneker DH, Electrospinning and the formation of nanofibers, In: D. R. Salem, Structure formation in polymeric Fibers, Hanser, Cincinnati (2001)

[5] Subbiah T, Bhat GS, Tock RW, Pararneswaran S, Ramkumar SS, J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 96(2), 557 (2005)

[6] Frenot A, Chronakis IS, Curr. Opin. Colloid Interface Sci., 8, 64 (2003)

[7] Park HS, Park YO, Korean J. Chem. Eng., 22(1), 165 (2005)

[8] Kim GT, Hwang YJ, Ahn YC, Shin HS, Lee JK, Sung CM, Korean J. Chem. Eng., 22(1), 147 (2005)

[9] Kim GT, Lee JS, Shin JH, Ahn YC, Hwang YJ, Shin HS, Lee JK, Sung CM, Korean J. Chem. Eng., 22(5), 783 (2005)

[10] Casper CL, Stephens JS, Tassi NG, Chase DB, Rabolt JF, Macromolecules, 37(2), 573 (2004)

[11] Dierickx W, Geotext. Geomembranes, 17, 231 (1999)

[12] Bhatia SK, Smith JL, Geosynth. Int., 3, 155 (1996)

[13] Bhatia SK, Smith JL, Geosynth. Int., 3, 301 (1996)

[14] Ho ST, Hutmacher DW, Biomaterials, 27, 1362 (2006)

[15] Aydilek AH, Edil TB, Geotech. Test. J., 27, 1 (2004)

[16] Aydilek AH, Oguz SH, Edil TB, J. Comput. Civil Eng., 280 (2002)

[17] Gonzalez RC, Woods RE, Digital image processing, 2nd Ed., Prentice Hall, New Jersey (2001)

[18] Jahne B, Digital image processing, 5th Ed., Springer, Germany (2002)

[19] Kim HS, Pourdeyhimi B, Intern. Nonwoven J., 15-19 (Winter 2000)

[20] Abdel-Ghani MS, Davis GA, Chem. Eng. Sci., 40, 117 (1985)

[21] Pourdeyhimi B, Ramanathan R, Dent R, Text. Res. J., 66, 713 (1996)