Engineering the microstructure of electrospun fibrous scaffolds by microtopography.

ABSTRACT: Controlling the structure and organization of electrospun fibers is desirable for fabricating scaffolds and materials with defined microstructures. However, the effects of microtopography on the deposition and, in turn, the organization of the electrospun fibers are not well understood. In this study, conductive polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) templates with different micropatterns were fabricated by combining photolithography, silicon wet etching, and PDMS molding techniques. The fiber organization was varied by fine-tuning the microtopography of the electrospinning collector. Fiber conformity and alignment were influenced by the depth and the slope of microtopography features, resulting in scaffolds comprising either an array of microdomains with different porosity and fiber alignment or an

SUBMITTER: Cheng Q 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3733537 | biostudies-literature | 2013 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature