Electrospinning & Electrospraying capabilities
Electrospinning & Spraying
Our analytical services laboratory houses multiple electrospinning and electrospraying equipment capable of a range of throughputs, from a single needle to over 100 needles. These instruments can be equipped with a variety of collectors: flat plates, rotating drums, discs, mandrels, and roll-to-roll collectors. This enables the fabrication of electrospun samples of various shapes and sizes. Different structures like single-phase, core-shell, multi-axial, dual solutions, blended polymer solutions, specific fiber orientation, and porosity for desired scaffolding can be fabricated under controlled temperature and relative humidity conditions. Our scientists have the expertise to develop processes to electrospin and electrospray a range of polymers, and other materials, in different solvents.
R&D to Pilot-scale Nanofiber Production
Our instrumentation allows for single-needle R&D and can scale upwards by adding needles in various configurations to over 100 needles in use simultaneously for pilot production. Our electrospinning/electrospraying equipment allows the tight control of temperature, relative humidity, and airflow, along with globally recording all processing parameters to allow for batch-to-batch production which can then translate to cGMP and ISO certified manufacturing. With over 20 accessories that are implemented in our electrospinning/electrospraying units, we can take on very complex and difficult projects that require the processing of multiple components, more than one material with independent voltages, and even non-symmetrical structures that are required for advanced applications.
Utilizing needle-based electrospinning keeps the starting polymer solution in an air-tight closed reservoir to minimize and prevent solvent evaporation ensuring consistent fibers or particle production. The needle-based electrospinning method increases control over morphology and reproducibility for constant long-term production.
Our electrospinning/electrospraying equipment is also capable to process a solution with a needle-less injector called a Slit Injector. An advantage our equipment offers with this type of needle-less capacity is that the solution will be contained in a reservoir and the solvent will not evaporate over time like other technologies. This will maintain the concentration constant over time, while also knowing the exact flow rate operated with this technology.
Environmental conditions are critical to obtain reproducible nanofiber production. The reason behind this is because the solution contains a solvent that has a specific boiling point and vapor pressure that will be affected by temperature and relative humidity. The systems we utilize tightly control temperature and relative humidity to make the process development and scale-up more seamless.
If your solution processing requires a specific set of temperature and relative humidity within the previous range, we will be able to process your sample independently of the time of the year and season. This guarantees that your product will always be consistent between batch production. This system has allowed our customers to go towards cGMP certification and even FDA clearance as their production is always consistent.
Post Processing Techniques
Typical Analysis Post-synthesis
Scanning Electron Microscopy
We are a multi-disciplinary laboratory committed to providing our expertise and efficient analytical services.