from the conferences organized by TANGER Ltd.
In recent years, the solution blow spinning (SBS) process has gained interest due to its numerous advantages like high production rate or absence of high voltage for nanofiber fabrication. This technology utilizes coaxial nozzle systems, polymeric solution and high-velocity gas or airflow. One of the SBS research directions is represented by a potential in situ application of nanofibrous wound dressings of SBS in medicine. The spun polymeric solutions for SBS are usually prepared using toxic solvents due to the suitable properties required for spinning like high vapor pressure. Regarding the prospective medical application, ensuring that the spinning method poses no harmful effects is crucial. This statement contradicts the use of toxic solvents. Replacing toxic solvents with so-called nontoxic benign solvents seems to be a suitable solution. However, benign solvents pose a problem for the SBS process in terms of evaporation. It must be compensated for by one of the technology parameters e.g. nozzle diameter. This paper presents the results of SBS process of polymeric solutions based on aliphatic polyesters containing benign solvents such as ethyl acetate and acetone. The influence of a change in nozzle diameter on the SBS process is shown. The morphology of the produced fibers was studied using scanning electron microscopy. According to the results, the process of replacing toxic solvents with environmentally friendly ones is not trivial and it is still necessary to address this issue to obtain optimal fiber morphology using the SBS method and solutions containing benign solvents.
Keywords: Solution blow spinning, in situ application, benign solvents© This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.