Electrospinning Polyvinyl Alcohol to Create Artificial Membranes

Electrospinning is a fabrication method in which electric potential difference is used as a driving force to create thin sheets composed of nanofibrous polymer scaffolds. Commercial-grade electrospinning systems are prohibitively expensive, with prices upwards of $15,000. We developed a low-cost electrospinning setup with a budget of less than $5,700, using readily available components and machined parts. The setup features a high-speed rotating collection drum designed to induce fiber alignment. Due to production delays, we initiated electrospinning using a flat copper plate instead of the rotating drum. This simplifies the setup and enables direct comparison between scaffolds produced using a flat plate and scaffolds produced using a rotating drum in future research. Using a syringe pump, a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) solution was extruded through an electrically charged needle. The polymer scaffolds were deposited on the flat collection plate, creating webs with random fiber alignment. While these scaffolds do not yet replicate the nanostructure of natural membranous tissue, they serve as preliminary proof-of-concept for the electrospinning process. Future work will focus on optimizing fiber alignment using the rotating drum collector and refining process parameters, including solution concentration, voltage, and flow rate, to enhance fiber uniformity and mechanical properties. These advancements will improve scaffold suitability for biomedical applications such as medical device testing, tissue engineering, and wound healing.