Researchers at the University of Georgia have found a low-cost way to manufacture extraordinarily thin polymer strings. The nanofibers can be used to create advanced wound dressings, regenerate tissue, and deliver drugs directly to the site of an infection.
The new method, dubbed "magnetospinning," provides a scalable and safe means for producing very large quantities of nanofibers that can be embedded with a multitude of materials, including live cells and drugs.
"In contrast to other nanofiber spinning devices, most of the equipment used in our device is very simple," said Sergiy Minko, Georgia Power Professor of Polymers, Fibers and Textiles in UGA's College of Family and Consumer Sciences. "Essentially, all you need is a magnet, a syringe, and a small motor."
At laboratory scale, a very simple handcrafted setup is capable of producing spools containing hundreds of yards of nanofibers in a matter of seconds. Polymer that has been melted or liquefied in a solution is mixed with biocompatible iron oxide or another magnetic material and placed inside a hypodermic needle.
The needle is then positioned near a magnet that is fixed atop a spinning circular platter. As the magnet passes by the tip of the needle, a droplet of the polymer fluid stretches out and attaches to the magnet, forming a nanofiber string that winds around the platter as it continues to spin. The device can spin at more than 1,000 revolutions per minute, enough time to create more than 30 miles of ultra-thin nanofiber.
The researchers can use the manufacturing method to create a variety of nanofibers simply by changing the polymer placed in the syringe. Specially designed nanofibers can be created to promote the growth of stem cells, for example. Similar fibers are currently used to create scaffolding for lab-grown tissues and organs.
