am8b05096_si_003.avi (4.24 MB)
Transforming Nanofibers into Woven Nanotextiles for Vascular Application
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posted on 2018-05-24, 00:00 authored by John Joseph, Aarya G. Krishnan, Aleena M. Cherian, Balasubramoniam Rajagopalan, Rajesh Jose, Praveen Varma, Vijayakumar Maniyal, Sivanarayanan Balakrishnan, Shantikumar V. Nair, Deepthy MenonThis study investigates
the unique properties, fabrication technique, and vascular applications
of woven nanotextiles made from low-strength nanoyarns, which are
bundles of thousands of nanofibers. An innovative robotic system was
developed to meticulously interweave nanoyarns in longitudinal and
transverse directions, resulting in a flexible, but strong woven product.
This is the only technique for producing seamless nanotextiles in
tubular form from nanofibers. The porosity and the mechanical properties
of nanotextiles could be substantially tuned by altering the number
of nanoyarns per unit area. Investigations of the physical and biological
properties of the woven nanotextile revealed remarkable and fundamental
differences from its nonwoven nanofibrous form and conventional textiles.
This enhancement in the material property was attributed to the multitude
of hierarchically arranged nanofibers in the woven nanotextiles. This
patterned woven nanotextile architecture leads to a superhydrophilic
behavior in an otherwise hydrophobic material, which in turn contributed
to enhanced protein adsorption and consequent cell attachment and
spreading. Short-term in vivo testing was performed, which proved
that the nanotextile conduit was robust, suturable, kink proof, and
nonthrombogenic and could act as an efficient embolizer when deployed
into an artery.