Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Blend electrospinning'

Nanofibers, which have high surface area to volume ratio and better mechanical properties, are nanomaterials that both industry and scientists have started to show great attention in the last two decades. They are used in many areas such as life and filtration sciences, sensors, and composite reinforcement etc. Among five main production types, electrospinning is the best candidate for further development with a wide range of opportunities to be applied to all types of polymers and ceramics. This method uses electrically charged jet of polymers or liquid states of polymers to produce fibers from micro dimensions down to nano dimensions. Electrospinning setup has mainly three parts
(i) an AC/DC high voltage equipment which creates high electrical potential, (ii) a syringe, and (iii) a collecting screen. The purpose of this study is to electrospin polystyrene/butyl rubber blends and to investigate the effects of electrospinning parameters on the fibers produced. In this study, polystyrene/butyl rubber blends were electrospun by changing the applied voltage, the tip-to-collector distance, the flowrate, and the butyl rubber content in the fiber. Finally, morphology of electrospun fibers was characterized by SEM. The average fiber diameters varied from 760 nm to nearly 10 µ
m. Increasing butyl rubber content in the fiber resulted in a decrease in the final fiber diameter. Increasing applied voltage also caused a decrease in the final fiber diameter. The tip-to-collector distance did not affect the average fiber diameter. Increasing flowrate yielded fibers with larger diameters. Finally, the addition of non-ionic surfactant decreased the average fiber diameter.

Cryopreservation of functional three-dimensional tissue-engineered constructs described. This work suggests that using controlled cryopreservation steps and EG as a non-toxic CPA, efficient cryopreservation of TECs in cryobags becomes feasible.

I compositi laminati presentano problematiche legate alla delaminazione, ovvero al distaccamento delle lamine costituenti, ed allo scarso smorzamento delle vibrazioni (damping). L’obiettivo del presente elaborato di tesi è lo sviluppo e la produzione di membrane nanofibrose prodotte mediante elettrofilatura di blend polimeriche per la modifica strutturale di compositi laminati al fine di migliorarne la proprietà di damping e la resistenza alla delaminazione. Particolare attenzione è stata posta all’ottimizzazione sia dei parametri della soluzione (principalmente concentrazione e sistema solvente) che dei parametri di processo (portata, voltaggio applicato e distanza ago-collettore). La morfologia delle nanofibre è stata osservata mediante microscopia a scansione elettronica (SEM), la quale ha confermato la presenza di nanofibre con diametro nanometrico (200-800 nm), e prive di difetti (beads). Inoltre, le membrane sono state caratterizzate termicamente (TGA e DSC) e meccanicamente (prove di trazione).

Organophosphates and carbamates are potent inhibitors of the neurotransmitter acetylcholinesterase. This inhibition results in the blocking of nerve signal transference into the post synaptic neuron leading to loss of muscle action and death. Because of the universal mechanisms of signal transduction in animals, these inhibitors have been widely used as agricultural pesticides as well as chemical warfare agents (nerve agents). Health issues associated with pesticide usage result from the fact that both the pesticides and their breakdown products often end up in water and food sources as well as in the soil. As a result, there has been an increase in the number of studies aimed at the detection of these pesticides in the environment. One popular research area is enzyme based biosensor construction. Some important criteria for consideration during the construction of biosensors are the importance of a suitable solid support as well as the enzyme immobilisation method. Recently, there has been increased interest in using nano-scale material e.g. using nanoparticles as enzyme support material. This is largely due to their advantages such as large surface area to volume ratio as well as reduced mass transfer resistance. Electrospinning is a straight forward and cost effective method for producing nanofibres from any soluble polymer(s). The applications of electrospun nanofibres have been reported in clinical studies, biofuel production as well as bioremediation. In this study two polymers were selected: nylon for its mechanical stability and chitosan for its biocompatibility and hydrophilicity, for the fabrication of electrospun nanofibres which would function as immobilisation support material for acetylcholinesterase. The first objective of this study was to electrospin nanofibres from a nylon-6 and chitosan blend solution. A binary solvent system consisting of formic acid and acetic acid (50:50) successfully dissolved and blended the polymers which were subsequently electrospun. Scanning electron microscopy characterisation of the nanofibres showed that (i) a nylon-6: chitosan ratio of 16%: 3% resulted in the formation of bead free nanofibres and (ii) the fibres were collected in non-woven mats characterised by different size nanofibres with average diameters of 250 nm for the main fibres and 40 nm for the smaller nanofibres. Fourier transform infra-red (FT-IR) analysis of the nanofibres indicated that a new product had been formed during the blending of the two polymers. The second aim of the study was to carry out a facile immobilisation of electric eel acetylcholinesterase via glutaraldehyde (GA) cross-linking. Glutaraldehyde solution 5% (v/v) resulted in the immobilisation of 0.334 mg/cm² of acetylcholinesterase onto the nanofibres. The immobilisation procedure was optimised with reference to acetylcholinestease and crosslinker concentrations, incubation time and the cross-linking method. A comparative investigation into the optimum pH and temperature conditions, pH and thermal stabilities, substrate and inhibition kinetics was then carried out on free and immobilised acetylcholinesterase. The final objective of this study was to determine the storage stabilities of the immobilised and free enzymes as well as the reusability characteristics of the immobilised acetylcholinesterase. Several conclusions were drawn from this study. Acetylcholinesterase was successfully immobilised onto the surface of nylon-6:chitosan nanofibres with retention of its activity. There was a shift in the pH optimum of the immobilised acetylcholineseterase by 0.5 units towards a neutral pH. Although both free and immobilised acetylcholinesterase exhibited the same optimum temperature, immobilised acetylcholinesterase showed enhanced thermal stability. In terms of pH stability, immobilised acetylcholinesterase showed greater stability at acidic pH whilst free acetylcholinesterase was more stable under alkaline pH conditions. Relative to free acetylcholinesterase, the immobilised enzyme showed considerable storage stability retaining ~50% of its activity when stored for 49 days at 4°C. Immobilised acetylcholinesterase also retained > 20% of its initial activity after 9 consecutive reuse cycles. When exposed to fixed concentrations of carbofuran or demeton-S-methyl sulfone, immobilised acetylcholinesterase showed similar inhibition characteristics to that of the free enzyme. The decrease in enzyme activity observed after immobilisation to the nanofibres may have been due to several reasons which include some enzyme molecules being immobilised in structural conformations which reduced substrate access to the catalytic site, participation of the catalytic residues in immobilisation and enzyme denaturation due to the reaction conditions used for acetylcholinesterase immobilisation. Similar observations have been widely reported in literature and this is one of the major drawbacks of enzyme immobilisation. In conclusion, nylon-6:chitosan electrospun nanofibres were shown to be suitable supports for facile acetylcholinesterase immobilisation and the immobilised enzyme has potential for use in pesticide detection. Future recommendations for this study include a comparative study of the GA cross-linking method for AChE immobilisation which will lead to more intensely bound enzyme molecules to prevent non-specific binding. An investigation into the effect of inhibitors on stored immobilised AChE, as well as reactivation and reuse studies, may also be useful for determining the cost-effectiveness of reusing immobilised AChE for pesticide detection in environmental water samples. Several models have been designed for the determination of the kinetic parameters for immobilised enzymes. These take into account the mass transfer resistance as well as the overall charge of the immobilisation matrix. The use of these models to analyse experimental data will give a clear understanding of the effects of immobilisation on enzyme activity

The impact strength of Nylon 6 was improved by adding Ethylene- n-Butyl acrylate- maleic anhydride (E-nBA-MAH) terpolymer with various concentrations from 0% (w/w) to 15% (w/w). The bare interaction energy between two polymers was investigated by using melting point depression approach utilizing both the Flory-Huggins (FH) theory and the Sanchez-Lacombe Equation of State (SL EOS). The solution of the mixture was electrospun, and the effects of process parameters on the expected radii of nanofibers were investigated. The effects of process parameters such as polymer concentration in solution, electrical field, diameter of syringe needle, feed rate, and collector geometry on nanofibers were studied. The statistical analysis to relate these parameters on the diameter of nanofibers was carried out by using Johnson SB distribution. The ratio of elastic modulus to viscosity coefficient of nanofibers was worked out by using AFM and combined viscoelastic models. The experiments were carried out on single fiber. The ratio came out to be a function of nanofiber diameter and terpolymer concentration. Isothermal crystallization kinetics and WAXS diffraction patterns of blends revealed and also SEM images supported that after 5% addition of elastomeric terpolymer, the interaction between the components of the blend gets weaker. The elastic modulus of the blend with 5% of terpoymer was greater than that of the neat Nylon 6, but the elastic modulus decreased for the blends containing more than 5% terpolymer.

碩士
國立成功大學
化學工程學系
104
The scope of the research is finding the best parameters of the elcctrospinnig set-up and the electric force profile of the cone-jet by FEA simulation, and discussing the concentration effect and the composition effect of the electrospun fibers from PNIPAM/PVA blend aqueous solutions. We use SEM and TEM to observe the electrospun fibers to find what kind of composite fiber is it. By the research, we find the core-shell composite fiber and which polymer is in the core and shell individually with different composition of blend solutions. Then, we put a charged plate with a hole in the center of it in the electrospinnig system to want to let the electrospun nanofibers can be collected faster and more close to the center of collector, and to keep the jet straight. We also find the Maxima of the electric force profile appear near the cone apex. Finally, we simulate the coaxial electcrospinnig technique and change the difference between the lengths of inner needle and outer needle and the angle of the top of the needle to research the effects of the parameters for getting the stronger electric field and the thinner electrospun fibers.

碩士
淡江大學
化學工程與材料工程學系碩士班
107
In this study, it was adopted rubbing alcohol (2-propanol/water) as the solvent to prepare poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) submicron fibers and PMMA/poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) blend submicron fibers by the electrospinning technique. The solvents commonly used to dissolve PMMA, such as acetone, tetrahydrofuran, chloroform, toluene, etc., are harmful and environmentally unfriendly. Therefore, the green and economical co-solvent system, 2-propanol + water, were employed. It was found that both PMMA and PMMA/PVAc solutions can be electrospun near room temperature to yield good quality fibers. By controlling the solution concentration and spinning parameters (e.g., voltage, diameter of needle, solution conductivity, etc.) fibers with diameters of 0.5~3 μm were obtainable. In addition, both electrospun PMMA and PMMA/PVAc mats were waterproof and demonstrated superb hydrophobicity with contact angles > 130 °, and the later has higher strength in terms of bendability.

L’électrofilage est un procédé permettant de préparer des fibres possédant un diamètre de l’ordre du micromètre ou de quelques centaines de nanomètres. Son utilisation est toutefois limitée par le manque de contrôle sur la structure et les propriétés des fibres ainsi produites. Dans ce travail, des fibres électrofilées à partir de mélanges de polystyrène (PS) et de poly(vinyl méthyl éther) (PVME) ont été caractérisées. La calorimétrie différentielle à balayage (DSC) a montré que les fibres du mélange PS/PVME sont miscibles (une seule transition vitreuse) lorsque préparées dans le benzène, alors qu'une séparation de phases a lieu lorsque le chloroforme est utilisé. Les fibres immiscibles sont néanmoins malléables, contrairement à un film préparé par évaporation du chloroforme qui a des propriétés mécaniques médiocres. Des clichés en microscopies optique et électronique à balayage (MEB) ont permis d’étudier l'effet de la composition et du solvant sur le diamètre et la morphologie des fibres. Des mesures d’angles de contact ont permis d’évaluer l’hydrophobicité des fibres, qui diminue avec l’ajout de PVME (hydrophile); les valeurs sont de 60° supérieures à celles des films de composition équivalente. Un retrait sélectif du PVME a été réalisé par l’immersion des fibres dans l’eau. La spectroscopie infrarouge a montré que la composition passe de 70 à 95% de PS pour une fibre immiscible mais seulement à 75% pour une fibre miscible. Ces résultats indiquent que la phase riche en PVME se situe presque uniquement à la surface des fibres immiscibles, ce qui a été confirmé par microscopie à force atomique (AFM) et MEB. Finalement, l’effet du mélange des deux solvants, lors de l’électrofilage du mélange PS/PVME, a été étudié. La présence du chloroforme, même en quantité réduite, provoque une séparation de phases similaire à celle observée avec ce solvant pur.
Electrospinning is a simple method for the preparation of polymer fibers with diameters of hundreds of nanometers to a few micrometers. Although it is a versatile method, some issues remain in the control of the structure and properties of electrospun fibers. In this study, fibers electrospun from polystyrene (PS)/poly(vinyl methyl ether) (PVME) blends were characterized. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) revealed that fibers electrospun from benzene are miscible while a phase separation occurs when the fibers are electrospun from chloroform. While films cast from chloroform show poor mechanical properties, immiscible fibers are ductile. The effects of the blend composition and the solvent on the fiber diameter and morphology were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and optical microscopy. Afterwards, contact angle measurements were made to evaluate the hydrophobicity of the fibers which decreases as hydrophilic PVME is added to the blend; the values for the fibers were found to be 60° higher than their equivalent in films. PVME was selectively removed from the immiscible fibers by complete immersion into water. Infrared spectroscopy revealed that this process increases the PS content from 70 to 95% for immiscible fibers but only to 75% for miscible fibers. These results show that the PVME-rich phase is almost completely distributed on the fiber surface, which was confirmed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and SEM. Finally, the electrospinning of PS/PVME blends from chloroform/benzene solutions was studied. The presence of chloroform, even as a residual amount, causes a phase separation just as it does in fibers electrospun from pure chloroform.