Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
14.2.3 Polymers and Solvents used in electrospinning
14.2.3.1 Synthetic Polymers
As.mentioned.previously,.electrospinning.is.a.simple.and.versatile.process.and.numerous.
synthetic. and. natural. polymers. have. been. successfully. electrospun. into. nanoibers..
Biodegradable.and.biostable.synthetic.polymers.used.for.electrospinning.are.listed.in.the.
following:
Biodegradable synthetic polymers
•. Biodegradable. polyesters:. polyglycolic. acid. (PGA),. polylactic. acid. (PLA),.
poly(lactic-co-glycolic. acid),. polycarprolactone. (PCL),. polyhydroxyalkanoate.
(PHA),. polybutyrate,. polyhydroxybutyrate. (PHB),. polyhydroxyvalerate. (PHV),.
polydioxanone.(PDS)
•. Other. biodegradable. synthetic. polymers:. polyanhydride,. poly(ortho. ester),.
polyphosphazene,.and.poly(propylene.fumarate)
Biostable synthetic polymers
•. Polyesters:. polyethylene. terephthalate. (PET),. poly(butylene. terephthalate). (PBT),.
poly(trimethylene.terephthalate).(PTT),.poly(ethylene.naphthalate).(PEN),.polycar-
bonate.(PC),.and.polyethylene.glycol.(PEG).(also.known.as.polyethylene.oxide,.PEO)
•. Polyamide:.nylon,.polyacrylamide.(PAM),.and.polymetaphenylene.isophthalamide
•. Polyethers:. polyethersulfone. (PES),. polyoxymethylene. (POM),. polypropylene.
oxide.(PPO),.polyetherimide.(PEI),.and.Polyether.ether.ketone.(PEEK)
•. Polyimide
•. Polyurethane.(PU)
•. Vinyl.polymers:.polyethylene.(PE),.polypropylene.(PP),.polystyrene.(PS),.polyvinyl.
alcohol.(PVA),.polyvinyl.acetate.(PVAc),.polyvinylchloride.(PVC),.poly(vinylidene.
luoride).(PVDF),.polyvinylcarbazole,.polyvinylphenol,.and.polyvinyl.pyrrolidone,.
poly(ethylene-co-vinyl.
alcohol),.
polyethylene-co-vinyl.
acetate.
(PEVA),.
and.
acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene.(ABS)
•. Acrylic. polymers:. poly(acrylic. acid). (PAA),. poly(methyl. methacrylate). (PMMA),.
polyacrylonitrile. (PAN),. poly(dimethylsiloxane). (PDMS)/PMMA,. polymethacry-
late. (PMMA)/tetrahydroperluorooctylacrylate. (TAN),. polyisoprene,. and. poly-
acrylamide.(PAAm)
•. Conducting.polymers:.polyaniline.(PANI).and.polypyrrole.(PPy)
•. Other. polymers:. poly(2-hydroxyethyl. methacrylate). (PHEMA),. polybenzimid-
azole,. poly(ferrocenyldimethylsilane). (PFDMS),. polyacrylic. acid-polypyrene.
methanol.(PAA-PM),.etc.
The. list. of. polymers. used. for. electrospinning. keeps. growing.. The. major. synthetic.
polymers.and.their.solvents.used.to.electrospin.nanoibers.for.biological.and.biomedical.
applications,.such.as.enzyme.engineering,.biosensors,.drug.delivery,.and.tissue.engineering.
are. summarized. in. Table. 14.1.. Most. of. these. polymers. need. to. be. dissolved. in. organic.
solvents.except.for.PEO.and.PPy,.which.are.water.soluble..The.common.solvents.include.
DMF,.HFIP,.THF,.TFA,.TCA,.chloroform,.methanol,.acetone,.formic.acid,.etc..More.details.
including. solvents,. concentration,. and. molecular. weight. of. polymers. can. be. found. in. a.
comprehensive.review.(Huang.et.al..2003).
