Electrospinning refers to the collection of fibers, or spinning, about a cylinder by use of an electric field. An electrospinning device setup consists of four major components: a high voltage power supply, syringe pump, a conductive collector, and a syringe

Dowling, Buchanon

Khan, Muhammed

Tchitembo, Rosy Lutth D

Valdez, Renato

Zewde, Miheretsilasie

Scholar Works at UT Tyler (University of Texas at Tyler)

AbstractUT Tyler sought the development of a low-costelectrospinning machine to generate medical-grade tissuescaffolds. Nanofiber scaffolds are created during theelectrospinning process.BackgroundElectrospinning refers to the collection of fibers, or spinning, about a cylinder by use of an electrostatic field. An Electrospinning Machineconsists of four major components: a high voltage power supply, syringe pump with syringe, motor, and a conductive collector• A polymer-filled syringe placed into a syringe pump and charged with up to 30 kV• The pump discharges the polymer• The motor rotates a negatively charged Wire/Drum Collector• Nanofibers emerge from the syringe in the form of a jet stream, attracted to a negatively charged collector• Fibers are spun into tiny scaffolds about the Wire/Drum CollectorThe scaffolds are used to grow cells. The thinner fibers allow better cell adhesion. The control, reliability, and repeatability of the process isparamount to allow the University to research the optimal parameters for the best scaffolds.Figure 5: High Voltage Power Supply, Syringe Pump with Syringe, Motor, and Wire Collector are shown (Top). Electrospinning Machine with three collectors are shown. Doors allow easy access to the parts, while isolating the process from the environment (Left)Figure 1: First mechanical prototype of a rotating collector drum using PVC pipeSpecificationsObjective• Design, Build, and Test an Electrospinning Machine• Be far more flexible, modular, and cheaper than commercially available machines• Facilitate the reliable, repeatable research into the optimal nanofiber creation• Provide unprecedented control over every parameter• Be controllable from LabVIEW• Provide a simple, intuitive interfaceFigure 7: Custom LabVIEW interface was developed to allow a safe, flexible, and intuitive startup. The interface was design with simplicity in mindDesign, Manufacture, and Test an Electrospinning Machine HEC 18 - Electrogenics: Buchanon Dowling2, Muhammed Khan1, Rosy Lutth D Tchitembo1, Renato Valdez1, Miheretsilasie Zewde1.  Advisor: Dr. Andres Garcia1Sponsor: Department of Mechanical Engineering, UT Tyler1Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Tyler – HEC2Department of Electrical Engineering, The University of Texas at Tyler – HECLabVIEW AutomationAcknowledgement HEC 18 thanks our advisor, Dr. Andres Garcia, instructor, Dr. Nael Barakat, and customer, Dr. Hussian Rizvi for their continued guidance through the project.ConclusionThe electrospinning device creates medical-grade scaffolding. The machineis extremely flexible, allowing the choice of syringe size, polymer flow rate,collector speed and selection, voltage, and run time. It is an affordabledevice for educational and nanofiber research. It is less than 1/3 the cost ofcompeting commercial products while being far more flexible andconfigurable. The device will be used for research by the university. Further,it aids in the learning process of scaffold generation in materials sciencelaboratory classes.• Voltage Control 0 - 30 kV• Infusion Flow Rate: 0.1 - 5.0 mL/s• Speed : ≤ 300 RPM• Needle-to-Collector Distance 10 - 40 cm• Collector Diameter: 100 mm• Design Multiple Collectors: Plate, Wire, DrumFigure 8: Interface allows real-time monitoring and control of the ElectrospinningMachine. The trends can be changed in real-timeJourney of a CollectorElectrospinning Machine: More Than the Sum of its PartsThe most difficult part of the project was the mechanical design of theDrum Collector. Each iteration improved on the previous design.• What material should be used?• Should it be hollow or solid?• How does it spin?• How should it be supported?• How does the motor attach to the shaft?• How to conduct current through a rotating drum?Figure 2: Custom 3D-printed interconnect allows conduction from power supply to slip ring, to collector Figure 3: Many off-the-shelf parts were incorporated, and 3D printed. Shown is the speed-controlled motor, drum, interconnects, shaft, bearings and stands.Figure 4: Final design is printed. Wire Collector fits inside a standard 4” pipe. Together they form the Drum Collector.Figure 6: LabVIEW logic works behind the scenes to control the process. Complex combinational and sequential logic was developed. Boxes group the logic by functionFigure 9: Nanofibers are generated. Fibers can range from 10-100 nm in diameter

Electrogenics

https://scholarworks.uttyler.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?filename=0&article=1073&context=lyceum2020&type=additional

Electrogenics

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