Myung‐Seob Khil

Produced via electrospinning, polyurethane membrane, which has a unique property, has been of interest in medical fields. Electrospinning is a process by which nanofibers can be produced by an electrostatically driven jet of polymer solution. Electrospun fibers are collected in the form of membranes. The porous structured electrospun membrane is particularly important for its favorable properties: it exudates fluid from the wound, does not build up under the covering, and does not cause wound desiccation. The electrospun nanofibrous membrane shows controlled evaporative water loss, excellent oxygen permeability, and promoted fluid drainage ability, but still it can inhibit exogenous microorganism invasion because its pores are ultra-fine. Histological examination indicates that the rate of epithelialization is increased and the dermis becomes well organized if wounds are covered with electrospun nanofibrous membrane. This electrospun membrane has potential applications for wound dressing based upon its unique properties.

Electric field-driven fiber formation (electrospinning) is developing into a practical means for preparing novel porous filament with unusual structures and affordable mechanical properties. Polycaprolactone (PCL) was dissolved in solvent mixtures of methylene chloride/N,N-dimethyl formamide with ratios of 100/0, 75/25, and 50/50 (v/v) for electrospinning. The filament was formed by coagulation of the spinning solution following the well-known principle of phase separation in polymer solutions valid in other wet shaping processes. A strand of electrospun porous filament consisted of fibers ranging from 0.5 to 12 microm in diameter. To evaluate the feasibility of three-dimensional fabric as scaffold matrices, the plain weave, which is the simplest of the weaves and the most common, was prepared with porous PCL filament. The growth characteristics of MCF-7 mammary carcinoma cells in the woven fabrics showed the important role of matrix microstructure in proliferation. This study has shown that woven fabrics, consisting of porous filaments via electrospinning, may be suitable candidates as tissue engineering scaffolds.