Fabrication of patterned nanofibrous mats using direct-write electrospinning.

Due to the numerous advantages of nanofibers, there is a strong demand in various fields for nanofibrous structures fabricated by electrospinning. However, the process is currently beset by troublesome limitations with respect to geometric and morphological control of electrospun nanofibrous mats. This study presents a direct-write electrospinning process and apparatus with improved focusing and scanning functionalities for the fabrication of various patterned thick mats and nanofibrous patterns with high geometric fidelity, supported by a number of experimental results. Consequently, various patterned nanofibrous mats were fabricated using the developed method. Additionally, the fabricated mat was successfully used for cell patterning as a bioengineering application. The proposed method is expected to significantly improve the properties and functionalities of nanofibrous mats in a variety of applications.