Regulating poly-caprolactone fiber characteristics in-situ during one-step coaxial electrospinning via enveloping liquids

• A novel in-situ electrospinning fiber modifying via enveloping liquids is shown.
• Fiber morphologies can be tailored for smooth, porous or rough topographies.
• Hydrophobicity of resulting fibers is linked to their surface topographies.

Fiber modulation in-situ during the electrospinning process via enveloping liquid manipulation is a relatively un-explored process parameter. In this study, one-step control of fiber diameter and morphology are demonstrated using three liquids (ethanol, dimethyl silicone oil and mineral oil) serving as the outer-flowing medium during the co-axial process. Poly-caprolactone (PCL) fibers with various surface morphologies (porous, rough and smooth) and mean diameters (2–8 µm) were prepared. The results clearly show the modified enveloping liquid coaxial electrospinning approach permits fiber size regulation, hydrophobic enhancement and surface topography variation. This development has potential to meet requirements of polymeric fibers with micro and nano-patterned surface topographies, for biomedical and pharmaceutical applications, in a single step.

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