��biology is largely the study of fibers�� wrote Joseph Needham in Order and Life in 1936.  Cells, tissues and organs rely on polymeric nanofibers as supporting structures, and thus polymeric fibrous scaffolds have a major role to play in the burgeoning fields of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.  Also, cell interiors and surfaces are endowed with nanofibers (the cytoskeleton) which play key roles in defining mechanical properties and various important cellular functions.  For more than a decade, we have been involved in the development of electrostatic spinning (electrospinning) to create bio-mimicking fibers in a diameter range (ca. 20-100 nm) difficult to access by conventional fiber processing methods. We employ electrospinning as a method of fabrication of scaffolds for tissue engineering, drug delivery, and more recently the development of nanofiber constructs as models for functional biological systems.  We will focus on recent studies dealing with (1) collagen nanofiber fabrication using a versatile formulation system, and (2) Ca2+-responsive poly(acrylic acid)-based nanofibers as crude models of the cortical gel layer of nerve with the goal of offering important insights regarding nervous stimulation and transmission.

Mimicking cellular environments inside and out:  It's a small (nano-fibrous) world

247th National Meeting (2014)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.