Alginate-nanofibers fabricated by an electrohydrodynamic process

Alginate, a natural polymer, is potentially useful in biomedical applications, because it is very similar to macromolecular substances, unlike synthetic polymers that may cause problems due to toxicity and lack of recognition by cells. Alginatés processability characteristics, however, are a potential drawback to its use as a biomedical nanofiber scaffold. To improve electrospinnability, alginate has been processed with various synthetic polymers and surfactants. Although this has enhanced the processability of the polymer, a new approach is required to obtain a sufficient production rate over a short period of time. We used a multiplenozzle electrospinning system complemented with auxiliary cylindrical electrodes. The nanofibers of alginate/ poly(ethylene oxide) supplemented with lecithin as a surfactant were electrospun using a multiple nozzle system. We measured the production rate and size uniformity of the spun fibers with and without auxiliary electrodes. We observed that a multiple nozzle system with auxiliary electrodes provided much better and more stable processability, as well as higher mass productivity of alginate nanofibers compared with a normal multiple nozzle system. The resulting nanofiber mat showed potential for use as a biomedical scaffold based on our tests with cell-cultured human dermal fibroblasts. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 49:2242-2248, 2009.