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Fabrication of micro-structures of poly [(R)-3-hydroxybutyric acid] by electro-spraying/-spinning: understanding the influence of polymer concentration and solvent type

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Abstract

Electro-spraying/-spinning is a facile technique for the generation of nanometer to micrometer scale structures such as thin films, particles, beaded fibers, and fibers that can find a wide spectrum of applications. In this work, poly[(R)-3-hydroxybutyric acid] (PHB), which is a well-known biocompatible and biodegradable polymer, was studied with the objective of understanding the influence of PHB concentration and solvent type on the formation of the aforementioned structures when electro-sprayed/-spun. Solutions of varying concentrations of PHB (1–14 %) in chloroform, dichloroethane, and chloroform:dichloroethane (1:1) were electro-sprayed/-spun to fabricate different types of structures. It was observed that at any specific concentration, solvent properties significantly influenced formation of different kinds of structures with chloroform-based systems leading to more porous structures. Further, an increase in the concentration of PHB in solution while keeping the solvent type constant led to a gradual change in the morphology from thin films (1.5 %) to particles (1.0–2 %) to beaded fibers (3–10 %) and to fibers (14 %).Therefore, it was inferred that a variety of micro-structures of PHB can be fabricated by modulating the polymer solution concentration and solvent system. The results provide an improved understanding of the relationship between solution properties and micro-structures obtained by electro-spraying/-spinning of PHB. In addition, it also provides a method to fabricate micro-structures with diverse morphologies which can have significant implications in biomedical applications such as drug delivery and tissue engineering.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Department of Biotechnology (DBT), India, and Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IITK) for financial support; Advance Centre of Material Sciences (ACMS), Samtel Centre for Display Technology (SCDT) and Nanoscience Centre, IIT Kanpur for SEM facilities; Prof. R.N. Mukharjee, Department of Chemistry, IIT Kanpur for conductivity studies; Mr. U. S. Singh, ACMS, IIT Kanpur, for XRD studies; Prof. R. P. Singh, HBTI, Kanpur for surface tension studies (Tensiometer), Mr. Ayan Ray and Mr. Deepak Kumar for surface tension analysis by dripping from a needle method, and Mr. R. K. Verma for his help with determination of degree of crystallinity. BM would like to thank DBT and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), India for her research fellowship. DSK would like to acknowledge the “Batch of 1970 Research Fellowship” received from IITK.

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  1. Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur, Kanpur, 208016, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Binapani Mahaling & Dhirendra S. Katti

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  1. Binapani Mahaling
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Correspondence to Dhirendra S. Katti.

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Mahaling, B., Katti, D.S. Fabrication of micro-structures of poly [(R)-3-hydroxybutyric acid] by electro-spraying/-spinning: understanding the influence of polymer concentration and solvent type. J Mater Sci 49, 4246–4260 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-014-8120-8

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