Abstract:

In order to develop a simple and efficient method for preparing functional nanofiber array, electrospinning and reactive ion etching were combined to prepare regular electrospun nanofiber arrays. The influence of fiber film thickness and mask size on the formed fiber microstructures, as well as the biocompatibility of the fiber arrays as the cell culture substrate were investigated. he results show that highly ordered nanofiber arrays are produced by O2 reactive ion etching nanofiber films with co treatment of the electrospun nanofiber mats with copper grid as mask. The size and structure of the fiber arrays can be controlled according to the mask. Two dimensional uniform net-like arrays and three dimensional bird-nest-like fiber arrays formed, respectively, while the fiber films prepared by electrospinning for 30 min and 120 min are etched. NIH3T3 cell culture experiments suggest that cells have good adhesion and growth on the three dimensional fiber substrate, which indicates the produced fiber array has high biocompatibility.

Key words: electrospinning, nanofiber, reactive ion etching, fiber array