NEXT-GENERATION OPEN-HARDWARE ELECTROSPINNING FOR ADVANCED BIOMATERIALS

Electrospinning is a versatile technique for producing nanofibrous biomaterials with broad applications in tissue engineering and drug delivery. However, the high cost and limited flexibility of commercial electrospinning systems restrict their widespread use in research. In this work, a cost-effective, open-hardware electrospinning platform was developed, featuring precise process control (up to 30 kV), a modular architecture, and integrated environmental monitoring for the safe processing of electrospinning solutions containing poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and indomethacin dissolved in a dichloromethane (DCM) and N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) solvent system. The platform was validated through a 22-run Design of Experiments (DoE) using indomethacin as a model drug. Successful fabrication of PCL nanofibers and encapsulation of amorphous indomethacin were confirmed by SEM, FTIR, XRD, TGA, and DSC demonstrating the platform’s suitability for advanced biomaterials and drug delivery research.