Electrospinning of Novel Poly(ester amide)s

Novel PEAs derived from 1,4-butanediol, dimethyl adipate and a preformed alpha,omega-amino alcohol were synthesised and successfully electrospun from solution. The effects of increasing the ratio of amide/ester groups in the copolymer, polymer concentration, solvent mixtures and applied voltage on fibre morphology and diameter were investigated. The obtained fibres (diameter 180-450 nm) were randomly oriented. The fibre quality and homogeneity increased with increasing amide concentration. The solvent mixture CHCl3/HCOOH gave the best electrospinning results. The ultra-fine fibres were characterised using SEM, DSC and FT-IR, showing that the electrospun fibres are amorphous as compared to the pristine samples. These fibres are potential candidates for use as scaffolds in tissue engineering.