Process optimization of electrospun polycaprolactone and nanohydroxyapatite composite nanofibers using response surface methodology.

Electrospinning is a process that produces continuous polymer fibers in the sub-micron range through the action of an external electric field imposed on a polymer solution or melt. In this study the effects of process parameters on the mean diameter of electrospun polycaprolactone and nanohydroxyapatite (nHA) composite nanofibers were investigated. The fiber morphology and mean fiber diameter of prepared nanofibers were investigated by scanning electron microscopy. Response surface methodology (RSM) was utilized to design the experiments at the settings of nHA concentration, applied voltage, spinning distance and the flow rate of polymer solution. It also used to find and evaluate a quantitative relationship between electrospinning parameters and average fiber diameters. Mean fiber diameter was correlated to these variables using a third order polynomial function. Value of R-square for the model was 0.96, which indicates that 96% of the variability in the dependent variable could be explained and only 4% of the total variations cannot be explained by the model. It was found that nHA concentration, applied voltage and spinning distance were the most effective parameters and the sole effect of flow rate was not important. The predicted fiber diameters were in good agreement with the experimental results.