Nanocomposite Conductive Fibers via Solution Blow Spinning for Real-Time Wound Sensing

The research objective was to see if Solution Blow Spinning (SBS) could fabricate fibers from a polymer solution that could be used to create a conductive smart wound dressing for diabetic foot ulcers. This dressing would be able to detect the amount of bacteria in the wound through changes in the resistivity of the dressing. This research is necessary to provide a cheap and effective solution for the autonomous detection of chronic, non-healing ulcers. Each fiber was then tested for its average fiber diameter, conductivity, surface tension, as well as composition of its elements. Fiber conductivity was analyzed via four-point probe testing. A Hitachi S-400 Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) was used to test the fiber diameter and the composition of each sample was examined using a variable pressure SEM S3400. To create these fibers, Poly (lactic acid), chloroform/dichloromethane solutions were created. Then the solutions were solution blow spun to create fibers using a pressurized inert gas, nitrogen. SEM images showed consistent non-woven fiber morphology and diameter size that decreased with increasing and decreasing multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) and polymer concentration, respectively. Moreover, surface tension analysis showed how an increase in polymer concentration displayed higher tension values. When 10% MWCNT of 4% PLA was mixed with chloroform, surface conductivity values were as high as 1390 S/cm. Which would allow accurate detection of bacteria concentration in foot ulcers