Fabrication of Aligned Electrospun Nanofibers by Inclined Gap Method

A high-performance of uniaxial alignment of electrospun nanofibers was realized by introducing an inclined gap into dual collectors that consisted of two conductive strips. Because the two strips that were configured horizontally and vertically had a height difference from the inclined gap, the electrospun nanofibers were sequentially suspended across the edges of strips in a well-aligned and regularly distributed form. Some parameters, such as concentration of solution, applied voltage, and spinning distance were considered for the successful suspension and formation of the aligned electrospun fibers. The method could improve the properties of nanofiber alignment and allow for easy transfer onto other solid substrates or devices. The alignment technique used polycaprolactone, which resulted in continuous and well-aligned nanofibers with diameters ranging from 500 to 700 nm. Furthermore, it is suggested that repetitive transfer be used to achieve a higher density of aligned nanofiber arrays. This would enlarge the applicability of nanofibers, especially for the tissue engineering field. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 120: 1800-1807, 2011