Low-cost FDM 3D-printed modular electrospray/electrospinning setup for biomedical applications

Recent advances of electrospray technique for multiparticulate preparation: Drug delivery applications

The electrospray (ES) technique has proven to be an effective and a versatile approach for crafting drug delivery carriers with diverse dimensions, multiple layers, and varying morphologies. Achieving the desired particle properties necessitates careful optimization of various experimental parameters. This review delves into the most prevalent ES system configurations employed for this purpose, such as monoaxial, coaxial, triaxial, and multi-needle setups with solid or liquid collector. In addition, this work underscores the significance of ES in drug delivery carriers and its remarkable ability to encapsulate a wide spectrum of therapeutic agents, including drugs, nucleic acids, proteins, genes and cells. Depth examination of the critical parameters governing the ES process, including the choice of polymer, surface tension, voltage settings, needle size, flow rate, collector types, and the collector distance was conducted with highlighting on their implications on particle characteristics, encompassing morphology, size distribution, and drug encapsulation efficiency. These insights illuminate ES's adaptability in customizing drug delivery systems. To conclude, this review discusses ES process optimization strategies, advantages, limitations and future directions, providing valuable guidance for researchers and practitioners navigating the dynamic landscape of modern drug delivery systems.

A versatile hot melt centrifugal spinning apparatus for thermoplastic microfibres production

The centrifugal spinning (CS) method could address common issues such as low production rate and high energy consumption in the industry of nonwoven textile fabrication. Similarly to cotton candy production, the high-speed rotating reservoir extrudes melt or solvent-based polymer from orifices to produce fibres. Using polymer melt avoids solvent elimination and toxicity, but the process is more difficult. Thus, a versatile lab-scale hot melt spinneret with the ability to pour pellets inside continuously to expand our knowledge of the CS method and investigating different extrusion geometries such as nozzlefree is developed. Among the controllable parameters are, the spinneret heating temperature (up to 300°C), its two interchangeable 3D printer nozzles. An Arduino code is used to stabilize the temperature. The system performance is investigated with polypropylene and polylactide. The results show that fibres under 15 μm in diameter are produced. This work is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visithttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.

Nanomaterials Reinforced Polymer Filament for Fused Deposition Modeling: A State-of-the-Art Review

For the past years, fused deposition modeling (FDM) technology has received increased attention in the applications of industrial manufacturing fields, particularly for rapid prototyping, small batch production and highly customized products, owing to the merits of low-cost, user-friendliness and high design freedom. To further expand the application potential and promote the performance of the as-manufactured products, many efforts have been spent on the development of suitable materials for FDM applications. In recent years, the involvement of nanomaterials in the FDM-based polymer matrix, which has been demonstrated with great opportunities to enhance the performance and versatility of FDM printed objects, has attracted more and more research interest and the trend is expected to be more pronounced in the next few years. This paper attempts to provide a timely review regarding the current research advances in the use of nanomaterials to reinforce polymer filaments for the FDM technique. Polymer composite filaments based on nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes, nanoclay, carbon fibers, graphene, metal nanoparticles and oxides are discussed in detail regarding their properties and applications. We also summarized the current research challenges and outlooked the future research trends in this field. This paper aims at providing a useful reference and guidance for skilled researchers and also beginners in related fields. Hopefully, more research advances can be stimulated in the coming years.