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. The main parameters such as solvent type, applied voltage, flow rate and rotating speed play an essential role in the characteristics of the nanofibrous mor-phologies. It 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. A scanning electron microscope assessed the structure and the average diameter of the fibers. The results indicated that all scaffolds have three-dimensional structures with 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.