Electrospinning window: solution properties for uniform fibres from electrospinnable biopolymers

Electrospinning is a well-known method for producing continuous polymeric fibres with diameters in the submicron to nanometer range. In spite of the plethora of literature on the topic, the prediction of the morphology and/or topology of electrospun fibres remains a largely unresolved research topic due to the complex array of interacting parameters. The influence of various polymer solution properties including surface tension, conductivity and viscosity needs to be considered simultaneously although these measurements are rarely performed in a single study. In this study, the physical properties of aqueous poly(vinyl alcohol) solutions were obtained and compared with literature data for the purpose of defining target values. These newly defined target values were then verified using denatured whole chain marine collagen electrospun from two acids. This “electrospinning window” provides an informative resource for tissue engineering research studies