Energy-Saving Electrospinning with a Concentric Teflon-Core Rod Spinneret to Create Medicated Nanofibers
Although electrospun nanofibers are expanding their potential commercial applications in various fields, the issue of energy savings, which are important for cost reduction and technological feasibility, has received little attention to date. In this study, a concentric spinneret with a solid Teflon...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2020-10-01
|
| Series: | Polymers |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/12/10/2421 |
| _version_ | 1797550400805535744 |
|---|---|
| author | Shixiong Kang Shicong Hou Xunwei Chen Deng-Guang Yu Lin Wang Xiaoyan Li Gareth R. Williams |
| author_facet | Shixiong Kang Shicong Hou Xunwei Chen Deng-Guang Yu Lin Wang Xiaoyan Li Gareth R. Williams |
| author_sort | Shixiong Kang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Although electrospun nanofibers are expanding their potential commercial applications in various fields, the issue of energy savings, which are important for cost reduction and technological feasibility, has received little attention to date. In this study, a concentric spinneret with a solid Teflon-core rod was developed to implement an energy-saving electrospinning process. Ketoprofen and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) were used as a model of a poorly water-soluble drug and a filament-forming matrix, respectively, to obtain nanofibrous films via traditional tube-based electrospinning and the proposed solid rod-based electrospinning method. The functional performances of the films were compared through in vitro drug dissolution experiments and ex vivo sublingual drug permeation tests. Results demonstrated that both types of nanofibrous films do not significantly differ in terms of medical applications. However, the new process required only 53.9% of the energy consumed by the traditional method. This achievement was realized by the introduction of several engineering improvements based on applied surface modifications, such as a less energy dispersive air-epoxy resin surface of the spinneret, a free liquid guiding without backward capillary force of the Teflon-core rod, and a smaller fluid–Teflon adhesive force. Other non-conductive materials could be explored to develop new spinnerets offering good engineering control and energy savings to obtain low-cost electrospun polymeric nanofibers. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:27:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-934cda7232614fc786ee7e4279b08783 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4360 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:27:42Z |
| publishDate | 2020-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Polymers |
| spelling | doaj.art-934cda7232614fc786ee7e4279b087832023-11-20T17:52:31ZengMDPI AGPolymers2073-43602020-10-011210242110.3390/polym12102421Energy-Saving Electrospinning with a Concentric Teflon-Core Rod Spinneret to Create Medicated NanofibersShixiong Kang0Shicong Hou1Xunwei Chen2Deng-Guang Yu3Lin Wang4Xiaoyan Li5Gareth R. Williams6School of Materials Science & Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science & Technology, 516 Jungong Road, Shanghai 200093, ChinaSchool of Materials Science & Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science & Technology, 516 Jungong Road, Shanghai 200093, ChinaSchool of Materials Science & Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science & Technology, 516 Jungong Road, Shanghai 200093, ChinaSchool of Materials Science & Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science & Technology, 516 Jungong Road, Shanghai 200093, ChinaShanghai Institute of Technical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 500 Yutian Road, Shanghai 200083, ChinaSchool of Materials Science & Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science & Technology, 516 Jungong Road, Shanghai 200093, ChinaUCL School of Pharmacy, University College London, 29-39 Brunswick Square, London WC1N 1AX, UKAlthough electrospun nanofibers are expanding their potential commercial applications in various fields, the issue of energy savings, which are important for cost reduction and technological feasibility, has received little attention to date. In this study, a concentric spinneret with a solid Teflon-core rod was developed to implement an energy-saving electrospinning process. Ketoprofen and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) were used as a model of a poorly water-soluble drug and a filament-forming matrix, respectively, to obtain nanofibrous films via traditional tube-based electrospinning and the proposed solid rod-based electrospinning method. The functional performances of the films were compared through in vitro drug dissolution experiments and ex vivo sublingual drug permeation tests. Results demonstrated that both types of nanofibrous films do not significantly differ in terms of medical applications. However, the new process required only 53.9% of the energy consumed by the traditional method. This achievement was realized by the introduction of several engineering improvements based on applied surface modifications, such as a less energy dispersive air-epoxy resin surface of the spinneret, a free liquid guiding without backward capillary force of the Teflon-core rod, and a smaller fluid–Teflon adhesive force. Other non-conductive materials could be explored to develop new spinnerets offering good engineering control and energy savings to obtain low-cost electrospun polymeric nanofibers.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/12/10/2421energy savingelectrospinningengineering optimizationpoorly water-soluble drugfast dissolution |
| spellingShingle | Shixiong Kang Shicong Hou Xunwei Chen Deng-Guang Yu Lin Wang Xiaoyan Li Gareth R. Williams Energy-Saving Electrospinning with a Concentric Teflon-Core Rod Spinneret to Create Medicated Nanofibers Polymers energy saving electrospinning engineering optimization poorly water-soluble drug fast dissolution |
| title | Energy-Saving Electrospinning with a Concentric Teflon-Core Rod Spinneret to Create Medicated Nanofibers |
| title_full | Energy-Saving Electrospinning with a Concentric Teflon-Core Rod Spinneret to Create Medicated Nanofibers |
| title_fullStr | Energy-Saving Electrospinning with a Concentric Teflon-Core Rod Spinneret to Create Medicated Nanofibers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Energy-Saving Electrospinning with a Concentric Teflon-Core Rod Spinneret to Create Medicated Nanofibers |
| title_short | Energy-Saving Electrospinning with a Concentric Teflon-Core Rod Spinneret to Create Medicated Nanofibers |
| title_sort | energy saving electrospinning with a concentric teflon core rod spinneret to create medicated nanofibers |
| topic | energy saving electrospinning engineering optimization poorly water-soluble drug fast dissolution |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/12/10/2421 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT shixiongkang energysavingelectrospinningwithaconcentrictefloncorerodspinnerettocreatemedicatednanofibers AT shiconghou energysavingelectrospinningwithaconcentrictefloncorerodspinnerettocreatemedicatednanofibers AT xunweichen energysavingelectrospinningwithaconcentrictefloncorerodspinnerettocreatemedicatednanofibers AT dengguangyu energysavingelectrospinningwithaconcentrictefloncorerodspinnerettocreatemedicatednanofibers AT linwang energysavingelectrospinningwithaconcentrictefloncorerodspinnerettocreatemedicatednanofibers AT xiaoyanli energysavingelectrospinningwithaconcentrictefloncorerodspinnerettocreatemedicatednanofibers AT garethrwilliams energysavingelectrospinningwithaconcentrictefloncorerodspinnerettocreatemedicatednanofibers |