Developing a labview based thermally stimulated current (tsc) controller to measure residual charge in electrospinning

Electrospinning is an electrohydrodynamic process for the fabrication of nanofibers which are widely used in therapeutical tissue engineering approaches. It utilizes the potential difference of an electrostatic field to overcome the surface tension of the polymer solution to extrude a fine jet of fluid which deposits on the grounded collector as a nanofiber mat. Using this process, nanofibers with diameters less than a micron can be produced. Previous studies have shown the presence of residual charge in electrospun nanofibers. The presence and decay of residual charge during cell culture media is still unknown. In an attempt to clarify the presence or absence of residual charge during cell culture, a LabVIEW based Thermally Stimulated Current controller is designed. The LabVIEW controller encapsulates the temperature and the electrometer control using RS- 485 and GPIB interfaces. The controller outputs a Temperature-Current plot which is the Thermally Stimulated Current spectrum. The current observed at the melting point of the electrospun material is a direct measure of the residual charge trapped within the nanofiber mat. Using this technique electrospun PolyCaproLactone (PCL) mats are analyzed before and after immersion in culture media and Phosphate Buffer Solution (PBS) for 1, 4 and 7 days.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering - (M.S.)

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Biomedical Engineering

Year

2014

Author dc:creator

• Veezhinathan, Jai Abhishekh

Contributors dc:contributor

• George Collins
• Treena Livingston Arinzeh
• N. Chandra

• Electrospinning
• Nanofiber fabrication
• Thermally stimulated current
• Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.njit.edu/theses/192

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.njit.edu:theses-1191