Preparation of submicron polypyrrole/poly(methyl methacrylate) coaxial fibers and conversion to polypyrrole tubes and carbon tubes

In an effort to prepare electrically conductive nanofiber and nanotube materials, polypyrrole/poly(methyl methacrylate) coaxial fibers have been prepared using polymer fibers produced from an electrospinning process. Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) fibers with an average diameter of 230 nm were initially fabricated by electrospinning as core materials. The PMMA fibers were subsequently coated as templates with a thin layer of polypyrrole (PPy) by in-situ deposition of the conducting polymer from aqueous solution. Hollow PPy tubes were produced by dissolution of the PMMA core from PPy/PMMA coaxial fibers. High-temperature (1000 degrees C) treatment under inert atmosphere converted PPy/PMMA coaxial fibers into carbon tubes by complete decomposition of PMMA fiber core and carbonization of the PPy wall. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and FT-IR spectroscopy confirmed the formation of the PPy/PMMA coaxial fibers, PPy tubes, and carbon tubes.     

Drug Delivery Applications of Coaxial Electrospun Nanofibres in Cancer Therapy

Cancer is one of the most serious health problems and the second leading cause of death worldwide, and with an ageing and growing population, problems related to cancer will continue. In the battle against cancer, many therapies and anticancer drugs have been developed. Chemotherapy and relevant drugs are widely used in clinical practice; however, their applications are always accompanied by severe side effects. In recent years, the drug delivery system has been improved by nanotechnology to reduce the adverse effects of the delivered drugs. Among the different candidates, core–sheath nanofibres prepared by coaxial electrospinning are outstanding due to their unique properties, including their large surface area, high encapsulation efficiency, good mechanical property, multidrug loading capacity, and ability to govern drug release kinetics. Therefore, encapsulating drugs in coaxial electrospun nanofibres is a desirable method for controlled and sustained drug release. This review summarises the drug delivery applications of coaxial electrospun nanofibres with different structures and drugs for various cancer treatments.     

静电纺丝技术制备NiO@Al2O3@TiO2同轴三层亚微米电缆及其形成机理

采用静电纺丝技术,通过改进实验装置,采用同轴三喷嘴实验装置代替传统的单喷嘴实验装置,在最佳的纺丝条件下制备了[Ni(CH3COO)2+PVP]@[Al(NO3)3+PVP]@[Ti(OC4H9)4+CH3COOH+PVP]前驱体复合电缆,将其进行热处理,制备出了NiO@Al2O3@TiO2同轴三层纳米电缆. 采用差热-热重(TG-DTA)、X射线衍射(XRD)、傅立叶变换红外光谱(FTIR)、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)和透射电子显微镜(TEM)等分析技术对样品进行了表征. 结果表明,所得产物为NiO@Al2O3@TiO2同轴三层纳米电缆. 纳米电缆芯层为NiO,直径大约为137.83±8.85 nm;中间层为Al2O3,厚度大约为215.11±8.66 nm;壳层为TiO2,厚度大约为156.26±16.50 nm. 对NiO@Al2O3@TiO2同轴三层纳米电缆的形成机理进行了讨论.     

Design of controlled release system with multi-layers of powder

Pellets containing active ingredients were coated with water-insoluble powders, i.e. hydrogenated caster oil (Lubliwax (WAX)) and magnesium stearate (Mg-St). The influences of the structural difference of the sustained release layer and curing conditions on the drug release rate were investigated. Sodium valproate (VP-Na) was used as a highly water-soluble model drug. Drug release profiles were influenced by the combination of the WAX layer and the Mg-St layer. Even if the formula of sustained release layers were the same, drug release rate could be affected by the structural difference of the controlled release layer. The Mg-St layer was more effective in prolonging drug release than the WAX layer. Compared with single and double layer types, the triple layer (sandwich) type was most effective in obtaining a long sustained drug release. Heat-treatment retarded drug release mainly by increasing the density of the sustained release layer of the WAX. The Mg-St was effective in protecting the agglomeration between particles during heat-treatment. Optimal heat-treatment conditions were found to exist. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis indicated that heat-treatment caused the WAX to melt, formed a film-like structure and made the release layer dense. Furthermore, heat-treatment changed the release pattern of VP-Na from sustained release pellets with a multi-layer of powder, leading to zero-order release.     

Optimum sol viscosity for stable electrospinning of silica nanofibres

Silica nanofibres have, due to their excellent properties, promising characteristics for multiple applications such as filtration, composites, catalysis, etc. Silica nanofibres can be obtained by combining electrospinning and the sol–gel process. To produce silica nanofibres most of the time organic solutions are applied containing a carrying polymer, which is afterwards removed by a thermal treatment to form pure ceramic nanofibres. Although electrospinning of the pure silica precursors without carrying polymer is preferred, the parameters influencing the stability of the electrospinning process are however largely unknown. In addition, this knowledge is essential for potential upscaling of the process. In this study, the optimum viscosity to electrospin in a stable manner is determined and the way to obtain this viscosity is evaluated. Sols with a viscosity between 120 and 200 mPa.s could be electrospun in a stable way, resulting in uniform and beadless nanofibres. Furthermore, this viscosity region corresponded with nanofibres having the lowest mean nanofibre diameters. Electrospinning with diluted sols was possible as well, but electrospinning of the fresh sols was more stable. These results illustrate the importance of the viscosity and degree of crosslinking of the sol for the stable electrospinning of silica nanofibres and demonstrate that upscaling of the electrospinning process of silica nanofibres is feasible.     

Sol-Gel Co-Electrospun LiNiO2 Hollow Nanofibers

Using a coaxial capillary spinneret electrospinning technique combined with the sol-gel method, the nickelic xerogel hollow nanofibers first were prepared and the polycrystalline LiNiO₂ hollow nanofibers were obtained after sintering. The obtained hollow nanofibers were about 500 nm to 4 µm in outer diameter, and were made up of 20 ～ 30 nm nanocrystals. The xerogel hollow nanofibers and those calcined at different temperatures were characterized by thermogravimetric (TG) analysis, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrum, x-ray diffractometry (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).     

Electrospun Nylon-66/5-(4-dimethylaminobenzyliden) rhodanine composite nanofibres for solid phase extraction of palladium ions from wastewater samples

In the present work, a simple procedure is presented for the extraction and determination of pre-concentrated trace amounts of palladium ions through solid phase extraction (SPE) and flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry. This process was performed using Nylon-66/5-(4-dimethylaminobenzylidene) rhodanine composite nanofibres. These nanofibres were produced under optimised conditions via two-axial electrospinning technique and characterised by scanning electron microscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The effect of experimental parameters including solution pH, the type and volume of eluent and contact time was investigated in extraction and desorption process. Under the optimised conditions, good linearity in the range of 0.07–8 μg L^?1 and low detection limit of 0.015 μg L^?1 were obtained. High enrichment factor of 187.5 and good relative standard deviation of ±2.2% at 5 μg L^?1 of palladium had been achieved. The sorbent capacity for palladium adsorption was obtained 27 mg palladium per gram of nanofibres. So, the SPE was successfully applied to pre-concentrate and determine Pd(II) ions with flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer in real samples.     

三层同轴静电纺丝技术制备TiO2@SiO2同轴双壁亚微米管及光催化性能研究

采用三层同轴静电纺丝技术,以钛酸丁酯、正硅酸乙酯、聚乙烯吡咯烷酮、无水乙醇、芝麻油、山梨糖醇酐油酸酯和氯仿为原料,成功制备出TiO2@SiO2同轴双壁亚微米管.用差热–热重分析、X射线衍射、红外光谱仪、扫描电镜、透射电镜和能谱仪对样品进行了表征.结果表明,得到的产物为TiO2@SiO2同轴双壁亚微米管,以非晶态SiO2为外壳,晶态金红石型TiO2为内壁,同轴双壁亚微米管平均直径约680 nm,管壁厚约70 nm、内壁厚约40 nm、外壳厚约30 nm,长度大于20μm,对其形成机理进行了分析.同轴双壁亚微米管对罗丹明B显示了较好的光催化活性.     

Ultrathin polydimethylsiloxane-coated carbonyl iron particles and their magnetorheological characteristics

An ultrathin polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) layer with a mean thickness of 1 nm was coated on soft magnetic carbonyl iron (CI) particles by using a simple thermal evaporation process, and then their physical characteristics were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), thermal gravimetry analysis (TGA), and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). Magnetorheological (MR) fluid was prepared by using PDMS-coated CI powder, and its rheological behavior was investigated under different external magnetic field strengths using a rotational rheometer. The CI particles coated by a thin PDMS layer showed higher oxidation temperature than pristine CI particles and MR fluid consisting of PDMS-coated CI particles demonstrated better dispersion stability in a nonmagnetic carrier fluid.     

Preparation and evaluation of poly glycerol sebacate/poly hydroxy butyrate core‐shell electrospun nanofibers with sequentially release of ciprofloxacin and simvastatin in wound dressings

Biodegradable wound dressing of poly glycerol sebacate/poly hydroxy butyrate was fabricated via the coaxial electrospinning process. Simvastatin and ciprofloxacin were loaded in the core and shell of the fibers, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy images showed a uniform core/shell structure. Introducing drugs into the polymers would cause the dressing samples to become more hydrophilic and degradation to occur faster. Drugs release would face no interventions, in which, approximately 60% of ciprofloxacin was released during the first 24 hours. Simvastatin exhibited a slower and controlled release behavior, with its release peak recorded after 2 days. The drug‐containing samples showed a proper bactericidal activity against both Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative bacteria. It may be concluded that the drug‐laden wound dressing fabricated in this study is capable of releasing the 2 drugs sequentially and that it is the ideal conditions for controlling infections and reducing wound healing duration.     

Preparation and drug delivery study of electrospun hollow PES ultrafine fibers with a multilayer wall

The focus of this work was the preparation of hollow ultrafine fibers with a multilayer wall via coaxial electrospinning technology in one step and then studied their drug delivery properties. In this paper, by choosing a suitable dilute hydrophilic polymer solution as the core solution, polyethersulfone (PES) hollow ultrafine fibers with two different layers wall (porous structure layer and dense smooth layer) were formed during coaxial electrospinning process in one step. They showed good drug delivery capacity when curcumin was used as the model drug. There were much larger delivery amounts, more stable release rate, and higher utilization rate of PES hollow ultrafine fibers with a multilayer wall to curcumin than that of PES porous ultrafine fibers. Compared with porous ultrafine fibers, hollow ultrafine fibers with two different layers wall were more suitable to be used as drug delivery materials. Besides, between the two hollow ultrafine fibers with two different layers wall mentioned in this paper, there was much better drug delivery capacity for the hollow fibers produced with the core solution of PVA/DMSO. These results showed that PES hollow ultrafine fibers with two different layers wall have the potential to be used as the drug delivery materials.     

Effect of thermal annealing on a bilayer polyvinyl alcohol/polyacrylic acid electrospun hydrogel nanofibres loaded with doxorubicin and clarithromycin for a synergism effect against osteosarcoma cells

Polyvinyl alcohol/polyacrylic acid (PVA/PAA) bilayer hydrogel nanofibres were successfully fabricated by electrospinning and physically crosslinked via heat treatment. The effects of the thermal annealing process on the structure, morphology, swelling, thermal properties and hydrophilicity of electrospun nanofibres were investigated. In addition, these membranes were also used to incorporate doxorubicin and clarithromycin for osteosarcoma treatment, one in each layer. These drugs were used because it is hypothesized in this work that a synergism occurs between both drugs. So, these membranes were analyzed towards their dual-drug release and potential cytotoxicity towards the U2OS human osteosarcoma cell line. Moreover, the water contact angle, disintegration, swelling and weight loss studies confirmed the rapid swelling and improved water stability of the annealed PVA/PAA bilayer nanofibres. The annealed bilayer nanofibres exhibited an increase in the average diameter and degree of crystallinity. In addition, the results revealed that a variation occurred in the degree of hydrophilicity of annealed PVA/PAA bilayer nanofibres. The PAA nanofibres surface exhibited higher hydrophilicity than the PVA nanofibres surface. Drug delivery presented to be as fast rate release for clarithromycin and slow-rate release for doxorubicin, which may be advantageous because both drugs exhibited to be synergetic for certain dosages presenting the combination of the drugs higher than 50% of cell inhibition, while these membranes had higher inhibition values (up to 90%), which was attributed to the PAA but also the drugs. These unique properties are of potential interest in drug delivery applications for dual drug delivery where the tunability of surfaces is desirable.     

Electrospinning Process of Thermo-sensitive Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) /poly (2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid) Nanofibers

Poly (N-isopropylacrylamide)/poly (2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid) (PNIPAAm/PAMPS) nanofibers was prepared using the electrospinning technique. The electrospinning process parameters such as solution concentration, voltage, receiver distance and flow rate were determined by the orthogonal experiments. The appropriate electrospinning parameters were 7.0% of solution concentration, 10.0 kV of voltage, 20 cm of distance and 3.1 μL·min^?1 of flow rate, respectively. The major factor affecting the nanofibers diameter was the solution concentration and the diameter increased with the solution concentration. The Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was conducted to characterize the structure of the components for electrospinning. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was taken to observe the morphology, and the contact angle (CA) measuring was carried out to determine the wettability of the nanofibers with temperatures. The results of SEM observation showed that the surfaces of nanofibers were smooth with uniform fibrous diameters and without the formation of beads. The CA detections showed that the electrospun PNIPAAm/PAMPS nanofibers exhibited thermo-sensitivity of hydrophilicity at 20°C and hydrophobicity at 40°C.     

Controllable biodegradability, drug release behavior and hemocompatibility of PTX-eluting magnesium stents

Cardiovascular magnesium-based stents have been already applied in patients. However, their high corrosion rate hinders their clinical application. In this study, we adopt a new approach in the design of a Mg-based stent to improve the biodegradation rate and the drug release rate. By fabricating a micro-arc oxidation/poly-l-lactic acid (MAO/PLLA) composite coating on the magnesium alloy AZ81 substrate, the corrosion resistance decreased and the biodegradation rate became controllable. The drug release coating was composed of one Poly(dl-lactide-co-glycolide)/paclitaxel (PLGA/PTX) layer and one pure PLGA blank layer without paclitaxel, and this coating also functions to provide controlled biodegradation rate of the stent. The drug release rate was controlled by controlling the ratio of the LA:GA of the PLGA without PTX. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images were used to demonstrate the morphology of the samples before and after this modification. The blood compatibility of the samples was demonstrated by the platelet adhesion test. The drug release was determined by ultraviolet-visible (UV-visible) spectrophotometer. The result showed that the PLLA effectively sealed the micro-cracks and micro-holes on the surface of the MAO coating to give controllable biodegradation of the AZ81. The drug release rate of PTX exhibited a nearly linear sustained-release profile with no significant burst releases that would come from the uncontrolled oxidation/corrosion of AZ81. The samples modified had better hemocompatibility than 316L stainless steel.     

Investigation into the surface modification of aragonite whiskers

Aragonite whiskers (AWs) were treated with several fatty acid surfactants and silane coupling agent in order to determine the optimal modifier by using contact angle measurements. The results revealed that the AWs modified by fatty acids showed more remarkable increase in the contact angle than by silane, suggesting the former were preferentially applied in modifying AWs. While the samples coated with fatty acids exhibited hydrophobicity with contact angles ranging from 104.08° to 137.87° with increasing of carbon chain length. Therefore, the highest contact angle of AWs treated by oleic acid was discussed in detail as an example, which was characterized by field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermo‐gravimetry analyses (TGA), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR). FESEM and TEM results showed a thin layer coated on the modified sample surface. Both the results of TGA and XPS confirmed organic groups existed in the sample of AWs treated by oleic acid. FTIR demonstrated that calcium dioleate was formed in the modification process. Further, modification mechanism was proposed based on the obtained results. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Facile preparation of superhydrophobic and oleophobic surfaces via the combination of Cu(0)‐mediated reversible‐deactivation radical polymerization and click chemistry

The fabrication of novel hydrophobic, superhydrophobic, and oleophobic surfaces on glass using nanosilica particles modified with polymer brushes prepared via surface initiated Cu(0)‐mediated reversible‐deactivation radical polymerization was demonstrated. Monomers including n‐butyl acrylate, 2,2,2‐trifluoroethyl methacrylate, and 1,1,1,3,3,3‐hexafluoroisopropyl acrylate were used to synthesize a series of nanosilica–polymer organic/inorganic hybrid materials. Products were analyzed using infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The coated nanosilica showed core–shell structures that contains polymer brushes up to 67 wt %. The application of these particles for modifying surface wettability was examined by covalently attaching them to glass via a recently developed one‐pot “grafting to” methodology using “thio‐bromo click” chemistry. Atomic force microscopy topographic images show up to 25 times increase in roughness of the coated glass compared to blank glass sample. Contact angle measurements showed that nanosilica coated with PBA and PTFEM produced hydrophobic glass surfaces, while a superhydrophobic and oleophobic surface was generated using nanosilica functionalized with PHFIPA. This novel methodology can produce superhydrophobic and oleophobic surfaces in an easy and fast way without the need for tedious and time‐consuming processes, such as layer‐by‐layer deposition, high temperature calcination, and fluorinated oil infusion. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2018     

Poly (N-isopropylacrylamide)/poly (ethylene oxide) blend nanofibrous scaffolds: thermo-responsive carrier for controlled drug release

A facile electrospinning method has been utilized to fabricate poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM)/poly (ethylene oxide) (PEO) blend nanofibers having the mean fiber diameters from approximately 250 to 380 nm. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed that the morphology and diameter distribution of the nanofibrous scaffolds can be easily modulated by changing the weight ratio of PNIPAM/PEO in electrospinning solution. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) demonstrated that there were interactions between the molecules of PNIPAM and PEO. Vitamin B12 was chosen as a hydrophilic model drug for in situ encapsulation in PNIPAM/PEO blend nanofibrous scaffolds. The rate of drug release can be controlled by adjusting the weight ratio of PNIPAM/PEO, the temperature of release medium and the drug loading amount. It is suggested that the blend nanofibrous scaffold could be used as a new thermo-responsive matrix for the entrapment and controlled release of drugs.     

Efficient removal of partially hydrolysed polyacrylamide in polymer-flooding produced water using photocatalytic graphitic carbon nitride nanofibres

In this work, graphitic carbon nitride (GCN) photocatalyst-incorporated polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibres (GCN/PAN nanofibres) were successfully prepared using electrospinning technique. The physicochemical properties of the fabricated GCN/PAN nanofibres were analysed using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), elemental analyser, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and UV–vis–NIR spectroscopy. The photocatalytic degradation by GCN/PAN nanofibres exhibited 90.2% photodegradation of partially hydrolysed polyacrylonitrile (HPAM) after 180 min under UV light irradiation in a suspension photocatalytic reactor. The results suggest that the photodegradation of HPAM contaminant by GCN/PAN nanofibres was due to the synergetic effects of HPAM adsorption by the PAN nanofibres and HPAM photodegradation by the GCN. This study provides an insight into the removal of HPAM from polymer-flooding produced water (PFPW) through photocatalytic degradation of liquid-permeable self-supporting nanofibre mats as a potentially promising material to be used in industrial applications.     

Preparation of superhydrophobic electroconductive graphene-coated cotton cellulose

A simple and versatile method based on cotton cellulose coated with graphene is reported for the fabrication of superhydrophobic and electroconductive textiles. Graphene oxide was deposited on cotton fibers by a dip-pad-dry method followed by reduction with ascorbic acid to yield a fabric with a layer of graphene. The fabric was then reacted with methyltrichlorosilane to form polymethylsiloxane (PMS) nanofilaments on the fibers surface. The surface chemistry and morphology were characterized by UV–visible reflectance spectrophotometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The water contact angle (CA)/shedding angle (SHA) and resistivity measurements were used for assessing hydrophobicity and conductivity, respectively. The graphene-coated fabric showed hydrophobicity with the CA of 143.2° ± 2.9° and SHA of 41°. The formation of PMS nanofilaments displayed superhydrophobicity with CA of 163° ± 3.4° and SHA of 7°, which indicated the self-cleaning ability. Conductivity of the graphene-coated fabric was confirmed by the electrical resistivity of 91.8 kΩ/sq which increased to 112.5 kΩ/sq after the formation of PMS nanofilaments.     

Novel Hydrogen Peroxide Biosensor Based on Hemoglobin Combined with Electrospinning Composite Nanofibers

A facile strategy to construct an amperometric biosensor was described for the determination of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). This biosensor relied on an electrospinning gold nanoparticle-chitosan-poly(vinyl alcohol) composite nanofibers modified ITO electrode, followed by immobilization of hemoglobin (Hb) on the surface. The introduction of nanofibers and gold nanoparticles in the modification of electrode surface not only enhanced the surface area of the modified electrode for enzyme immobilization but also facilitated the electron transfer rate. Under optimum conditions, the sensor was characterized in terms of its morphology by scanning electron microscopy and its electroactivity by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the obtained nanofibers were uniform. The chronoamperometric behavior of the modified electrode indicated that the immobilized Hb retained electrochemical activity inside the electrospinning fibrous membranes. The electrode responded linearly to H₂O₂ in a wider concentration range of 5.6 × 10^?7 M to 5.2 × 10^?2 M with a low detection limit (S/N = 3) of 1.98 × 10^?7 M and a short response time of ～4 s, suggesting a much better performance than that of other sensors. Moreover, the biosensor achieved bulk production and exhibited superior properties for the sensitive determination of H₂O₂, studied namely, long-term stability, good reproducibility, and high selectivity.