Session: Research Posters

Paper Number: 172941

Mechanical Testing and Analysis of Spoolable Pcl Microfibers 

Production, characterization, and analysis of continuous and spoolable polycaprolactone (PCL) microfibers have become a growing research interest for their widespread engineering and biomedical applications, such as surgical sutures and bioresorbable implants. PCL is a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved biomaterial that can be used inside the human body for medical treatment and applications. The objective of our research is to design and develop bioresorbable flow diverters using PCL microfibers for the endovascular treatment of brain aneurysms. This paper presents the fabrication and mechanical testing of continuous, spoolable PCL microfibers. The microfiber was fabricated from medical-grade 3D printing PCL filament using an in-house, patent-pending electro-melt spinning unit. Combination of 4 different spinning rates and 3 different PCL rates, there were 12 different diameters of PCL microfiber produced. Each microfiber sample selected for mechanical testing was inspected visually and under a scanning electron microscope (SEM) for any defects. Microfibers with any surface defects were discarded and replaced with good microfibers.  The diameters of the microfibers were estimated from the SEM images. For each of the combinations of the diameter of the microfiber, 5 different samples were tested using a biomaterial universal testing machine with 1 N load cells. The SEM measurement of the microfibers shows that 12 combinations of spinning rates and flow rates produced 12 different, distinct diameters of the microfibers. The diameters of the microfibers were found to be 16 um, 23 um, 32.5 um, 48 um, 56 um, 59 um, 68 um, 74um, 81 um, 86.5 um, 105 um, 113.5 um. The force vs displacement data were collected through data collection associated with the testing machine, stress and strain were calculated. Stress and strain curves were created for each combination of spinning rates and flow rates, and each sample, and the mechanical properties – modulus of elasticity and yield strength were also estimated. The results show that the modulus of elasticity and yield strength are higher for smaller diameter fibers below 40 micrometers. The modulus of elasticity and yield strength of fibers below 40 micrometers of diameters are statistically different. However, both the modulus of elasticity and yield strength for fibers above 40 micrometers are of diameters are not different, they are statistically similar.  Also, these two properties for fibers above 40 micrometers of diameters are within the bulk PCL properties range. This research contributes to developing engineering and biomedical applications of continuous PCL microfibers.

Presenting Author: Faisal Mahmud University of Central Oklahoma

Presenting Author Biography: Faisal Mahmud is a graduate student

Authors:

Mohammad Hossan Univ Of Central Oklahoma
Faisal Mahmud University of Central Oklahoma
Alex Matsayko University of Central Oklahoma