Electrospinning writing with molten poly (ε-caprolactone) from different directions - Examining the effects of gravity

This work investigates the effect of gravity during melt electrospinning writing (MEW) and explores the feasibility of developing MEW devices with lateral and upside down print head configurations. Average fibre diameters of printed constructs using different printing directions and their variability reveal particular differences. These give an insight into the effect of gravity, which was observed to affect the Taylor cone, yet interestingly not the fibre jet. Additionally, stable processing conditions were studied and showed that it is possible to reproducibly print from all directions using MEW.