Melt electrospinning of biodegradable polyurethane scaffolds

Electrospinning from a melt, in contrast to from a solution, is an attractive tissue engineering scaffold manufacturing process as it allows for the formation of small diameter fibers while eliminating potentially cytotoxic solvents. Despite this, there is a dearth of literature on scaffold formation via melt electrospinning. This is likely due to the technical challenges related to the need for a well-controlled high-temperature setup and the difficulty in developing an appropriate polymer. In this paper, a biodegradable and thermally stable polyurethane (PU) is described specifically for use in melt electrospinning. Polymer formulations of aliphatic PUs based on (CH2)4-content diisocyanates, polycaprolactone (PCL), 1,4-butanediamine and 1,4-butanediol (BD) were evaluated for utility in the melt electrospinning process. The final polymer formulation, a catalyst-purified PU based on 1,4-butane diisocyanate, PCL and BD in a 4/1/3 M ratio with a weight-average molecular weight of about 40 kDa, yielded a nontoxic polymer that could be readily electrospun from the melt. Scaffolds electrospun from this polymer contained point bonds between fibers and mechanical properties analogous to many in vivo soft tissues.