We recently demonstrated that superhydrophobic electrospun meshes can be used as drug delivery devices, where the presence of entrapped air allows prolonged drug release. We hypothesized that these 3D meshes can be conceptualized as stacked layers of superhydrophobic material, where both the surface and the bulk material maintain air. In our present work, we characterize 3D superhydrophobicity and propose a mechanism of wetting. Specifically, we electrospin poly(e-caprolactone) with poly(glycerol monostearate-co-e-caprolactone) (PGC-C18) as a hydrophobic dopant. Apparent contact angles range from 123� to 157�. Water infiltration is directly measured using �CT imaging, where we show significant differences in the time for water to fully infiltrate 3D superhydrophobic meshes, ranging from 10 to over 75 days. The hydraulic pressure needed to breakthrough is ~2.5 to ~11 kPa. The materials exhibit behavior consistent with a metastable Cassie-Baxter state, suggesting avenues for material design and tunability for a variety of applications, including drug delivery.

On the wetting of 3D superhydrophobic electrospun meshes

244th National Meeting (2012)

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