Electrospinning has been revived by increased interest in non-wovens and nanotechnology. Electrospinning allows the production of high surface area, interconnected, porous membranes of small diameter fibers. Electrospun fibers have uses in many applications. Understanding and control of the electrospinning process is an active area of research. The focus of this dissertation is to gain insight into the role of solvent properties and solution characteristics play in the electrospinning process. This knowledge will then be applied to electrospun fibrous membranes for drug delivery and tissue engineering applications.;The physical characteristics (volatility, solvent character, dielectric constant) of each solvent in a multi-component system were found to affect the electrospinning process of a series of polyolefins. The composition of the multi-component system was also found to be of significance. Unique surface morphologies were found in the series of electrospun polyolefins as a direct result of the unique composition of the multi-component solvent system. Polymorphic behavior was observed in electrospun poly(1-butene). These fundamental studies provided strategies to control the electrospinning process. This knowledge was used to produce electrospun membranes for drug delivery and tissue engineering.;Poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) was used as a carrier polymer to incorporate heparin, either low molecular weight heparin (LMWH), or high molecular weight heparin (HMWH), or poly(ethylene glycol) bound low molecular weight heparin (PEG-LMWH). Heparin is known to bind a family of growth factors which control cellular proliferation, migration and attachment. Heparin functionalized PLGA electrospun fibers were used to study binding and release of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and proliferation of Human Dermal Microvascular Endothelial Cells (HuDMVEC). PEG-LMWH containing electrospun fibers were found to bind and release VEGF in a controlled manner and improve cellular proliferation up to nine days.
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