Impact of Fiber Orientation in Electrospun PLA Scaffolds on Fluid Dynamics in a Custom Microfluidic Device.

ABSTRACT: Organ-on-Chip (OoC) systems are evolving as vital tools in biomedical research, proposing advanced platforms to replicate human tissue microenvironments for drug testing and disease modeling. This study examines how the orientation of polylactic acid (PLA) fibers influences fluid movement in a custom OoC setup. PLA scaffolds are fabricated via electrospinning with either random or aligned fiber orientations. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) reveals that random scaffolds are 70 µm thick with fibers measuring 1.12 µm, while aligned scaffolds are thinner at 35 µm with fibers of 1.02 µm. Porosity and matrix structure are analyzed to understand the impact of fiber arrangement. Liquid water permeability is tested using a custom three dimensional (3D)-printed device conforming to ISO 7198:2016

SUBMITTER: Capuana E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12477572 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature