Experimental Investigation of Governing Parameters in the Electrospinning of Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)-Starch Scaffolds: Structural Characterization

In this study, for the first time, electrospinning of polyhydroxybutyrate/starch was done and optimized to produce uniform-size and bead-free nanofibers following Taguchi methodology. It was found that main parameters such as type of solvent, applied voltage, solution flow rate and distance from nozzle tip to collector surface play an important role in the characteristics of the obtained nanofibrous morphologies. It was also found out from the main effects that the solvent type (chloroform/dimethylformamide, trifluoroacetic acid) is the most effective factor in the diameter and quality of the fibers. The structure and the average diameter of the fibers were assessed by a scanning electron microscope. The results indicated that all electrospun scaffolds have three-dimensional structures with high interconnected porosity. The optimum levels of factors were determined as follows: 18kV of voltage, 0.75 µL/h of flow rate, 15 cm of distance, and TFA as solvent in order to obtain the thinnest bead-free nanofibers.