Choi So Yeun, Lee Jeong Chan, Kong Deqing, Park Chan Hee, Kim Cheol Sang
Department of Bionanotechnology and Bioconvergence Engineering, Graduate School, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju 54896, Republic of Korea.
Department of Mechanical Systems Engineering, Micro-Nano Mechatronics Laboratory, Toyota Technological Institute, Nagoya 468-8511, Japan.
ACS Appl Bio Mater. 2025 Aug 18;8(8):7381-7390. doi: 10.1021/acsabm.5c01073. Epub 2025 Jul 24.
Electrospinning is a technology for producing a variety of functional polymer membranes, offering easy incorporation of particles and customizable membrane shapes. Therefore, it is actively studied across diverse fields, from cosmetics to advanced industries such as semiconductors and aerospace. In particular, it is attracting attention for application in the medical field, and research is being conducted for application in various implant fields such as artificial eardrums and artificial blood vessels in the field of tissue regeneration. However, the low mechanical properties and adhesiveness unique to electrospun fibers are obstacles to applying electrospinning technology to artificial conduits or stent coating membranes. Addressing this problem, it is necessary to solve the unique shortcomings of electrospun fibers mentioned above. In this study, a multilayer membrane was manufactured using electrospinning technology and one of the layers was converted into a film to improve the weak physical properties unique to electrospun fibers. In addition, while coating is usually performed only on the outer layer of the stent, in this study, both the inner and outer surfaces of the stent were coated to minimize movement of the stent wire when external stimuli were applied. The electrospun multilayer membrane was heat-treated, converting one layer into a film. This process enhanced interlayer adhesion and significantly improved mechanical properties compared to a membrane composed solely of fibers. In addition, we confirmed that the manufactured covered stent could significantly improve the hoop strength when both the inner and outer surfaces of the stent were coated compared to when only the outer surface of the stent was coated, confirming that the sandwich structure in which the stent wire is positioned between the electrospun film and the fiber can prevent the movement of the stent wire and improve the strength. The multilayer membrane composed of film/fiber developed in this study is expected to be sufficiently utilized in the fields of tissue regeneration and implants in the future because it showed sufficient properties to be used as a stent coating material while improving the shortcomings of existing electrospun fibers.
静电纺丝是一种用于生产各种功能聚合物膜的技术，它能够轻松地将颗粒融入其中，并且膜的形状可以定制。因此，从化妆品到半导体和航空航天等先进产业的各个领域都在积极研究这项技术。特别是，它在医学领域的应用正受到关注，并且正在进行相关研究，以用于组织再生领域的各种植入物，如人工耳膜和人造血管。然而，静电纺丝纤维特有的低机械性能和粘附性是将静电纺丝技术应用于人工导管或支架涂层膜的障碍。要解决这个问题，就有必要解决上述静电纺丝纤维的独特缺点。在本研究中，利用静电纺丝技术制造了一种多层膜，并将其中一层转化为薄膜，以改善静电纺丝纤维特有的薄弱物理性能。此外，虽然通常只在支架的外层进行涂层，但在本研究中，对支架的内表面和外表面都进行了涂层处理，以在施加外部刺激时尽量减少支架丝的移动。对静电纺丝多层膜进行热处理，将其中一层转化为薄膜。与仅由纤维组成的膜相比，这一过程增强了层间附着力，并显著提高了机械性能。此外，我们证实，与仅对支架外表面进行涂层相比，当对支架的内表面和外表面都进行涂层时，制造的覆膜支架能够显著提高环向强度，这证实了支架丝位于静电纺丝薄膜和纤维之间的夹层结构可以防止支架丝移动并提高强度。本研究中开发的由薄膜/纤维组成的多层膜有望在未来的组织再生和植入物领域得到充分利用，因为它在改善现有静电纺丝纤维缺点的同时，还表现出了足以用作支架涂层材料的性能。
