Phospholipid Nonwoven Electrospun Membranes
Matthew G. McKee,
John M. Layman,
Matthew P. Cashion,
Timothy E. Long*
Nonwoven fibrous membranes were formed from electrospinning lecithin solutions in a single processing step. As the concentration of lecithin increased, the micellar morphology evolved from spherical to cylindrical, and at higher concentrations the cylindrical micelles overlapped and entangled in a fashion similar to polymers in semi-dilute or concentrated solutions. At concentrations above the onset of entanglements of the wormlike micelles, electrospun fibers were fabricated with diameters on the order of 1 to 5 micrometers. The electrospun phospholipid fibers offer the potential for direct fabrication of biologically based, high-surface-area membranes without the use of multiple synthetic steps, complicated electrospinning designs, or postprocessing surface treatments.
Department of Chemistry, Macromolecules and Interfaces Institute (MII), Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: telong{at}vt.edu
