Effect of Melt-blowing Processing on Shape-Memory Polyurethane Microfiber Fabrics

摘要

This study produced SMFs with a range of structures and mechanical properties, while displaying favorable biocompatibility. The melt-blowing allows for the production of a web similar to electrospinning, but the process is solvent free and high-throughput. By altering the air pressure and collector speed, SMFs were produced with a wide range of fabric densities and fiber diameters. As the collector belt speed decreases, more fabric is collected in a specific time period, which increases the fabric density. As air pressure is increased, fibers are forced through the die with greater force, which increases the draw of the fiber and decreases the diameter. Mechanical testing showed fabrics that were highly ductile. The modulus increased as the air pressure increased due to the decrease in the fiber diameter and higher number of entanglements. Conversely, failure strain increased as the air pressure decreased due to increase in fiber diameter and less number of entanglements. The in vitro studies showed cell attachment directly to the micro fibers and deposition of collagen, which both indicate fabric cellular compatibility. Future studies will study the shape-recovery behavior under varying bias loads, effect of shape-recovery strain rates on cellular behavior, and elongation of various soft-tissues.