Browsing by Subject "Nanofiber"

Now showing 1 - 20 of 65

Open Access
Angiogenic heparin-mimetic peptide nanofiber gel improves regenerative healing of acute wounds
(American Chemical Society, 2017) Uzunalli, G.; Mammadov R.; Yesildal, F.; Alhan, D.; Ozturk, S.; Ozgurtas, T.; Güler, Mustafa O.; Tekinay, A. B.
Wound repair in adult mammals typically ends with the formation of a scar, which prevents full restoration of the function of the healthy tissue, although most of the wounded skin heals. Rapid and functional recovery of major wound injuries requires therapeutic approaches that can enhance the healing process via overcoming mechanical and biochemical problems. In this study, we showed that self-assembled heparin-mimetic peptide nanofiber gel was an effective bioactive wound dressing for the rapid and functional repair of full-thickness excisional wounds in the rat model. The bioactive gel-treated wounds exhibited increased angiogenesis (p < 0.05), re-epithelization (p < 0.05), skin appendage formation, and granulation tissue organization (p < 0.05) compared to sucrose-treated samples. Increased blood vessel numbers in the gel-treated wounds on day 7 suggest that angiogenesis played a key role in improvement of tissue healing in bioactive gel-treated wounds. Overall, the angiogenic heparin-mimetic peptide nanofiber gel is a promising platform for enhancing the scar-free recovery of acute wounds.
Open Access
Angiogenic peptide nanofibers improve wound healing in STZ-induced diabetic rats
(American Chemical Society, 2016-06) Senturk, B.; Mercan, S.; Delibasi, T.; Güler, Mustafa O.; Tekinay, A. B.
Low expressions of angiogenic growth factors delay the healing of diabetic wounds by interfering with the process of blood vessel formation. Heparin mimetic peptide nanofibers can bind to and enhance production and activity of major angiogenic growth factors, including VEGF. In this study, we showed that heparin mimetic peptide nanofibers can serve as angiogenic scaffolds that allow slow release of growth factors and protect them from degradation, providing a new therapeutic way to accelerate healing of diabetic wounds. We treated wounds in STZ-induced diabetic rats with heparin mimetic peptide nanofibers and studied repair of full-thickness diabetic skin wounds. Wound recovery was quantified by analyses of re-epithelialization, granulation tissue formation and blood vessel density, as well as VEGF and inflammatory response measurements. Wound closure and granulation tissue formation were found to be significantly accelerated in heparin mimetic gel treated groups. In addition, blood vessel counts and the expressions of alpha smooth muscle actin and VEGF were significantly higher in bioactive gel treated animals. These results strongly suggest that angiogenic heparin mimetic nanofiber therapy can be used to support the impaired healing process in diabetic wounds.
Open Access
Angiogenic peptide nanofibers repair cardiac tissue defect after myocardial infarction
(Acta Materialia Inc, 2017) Rufaihah, A. J.; Yasa, I. C.; Ramanujam, V. S.; Arularasu, S. C.; Kofidis, T.; Güler, Mustafa O.; Tekinay, A. B.
Myocardial infarction remains one of the top leading causes of death in the world and the damage sustained in the heart eventually develops into heart failure. Limited conventional treatment options due to the inability of the myocardium to regenerate after injury and shortage of organ donors require the development of alternative therapies to repair the damaged myocardium. Current efforts in repairing damage after myocardial infarction concentrates on using biologically derived molecules such as growth factors or stem cells, which carry risks of serious side effects including the formation of teratomas. Here, we demonstrate that synthetic glycosaminoglycan (GAG) mimetic peptide nanofiber scaffolds induce neovascularization in cardiovascular tissue after myocardial infarction, without the addition of any biologically derived factors or stem cells. When the GAG mimetic nanofiber gels were injected in the infarct site of rodent myocardial infarct model, increased VEGF-A expression and recruitment of vascular cells was observed. This was accompanied with significant degree of neovascularization and better cardiac performance when compared to the control saline group. The results demonstrate the potential of future clinical applications of these bioactive peptide nanofibers as a promising strategy for cardiovascular repair. Statement of Significance We present a synthetic bioactive peptide nanofiber system can enhance cardiac function and enhance cardiovascular regeneration after myocardial infarction (MI) without the addition of growth factors, stem cells or other biologically derived molecules. Current state of the art in cardiac repair after MI utilize at least one of the above mentioned biologically derived molecules, thus our approach is ground-breaking for cardiovascular therapy after MI. In this work, we showed that synthetic glycosaminoglycan (GAG) mimetic peptide nanofiber scaffolds induce neovascularization and cardiomyocyte differentiation for the regeneration of cardiovascular tissue after myocardial infarction in a rat infarct model. When the peptide nanofiber gels were injected in infarct site at rodent myocardial infarct model, recruitment of vascular cells was observed, neovascularization was significantly induced and cardiac performance was improved. These results demonstrate the potential of future clinical applications of these bioactive peptide nanofibers as a promising strategy for cardiovascular repair.
Open Access
Antibacterial electrospun nanofibers from triclosan/cyclodextrin inclusion complexes
(Elsevier, 2014) Celebioglu A.; Umu, O. C. O.; Tekinay, T.; Uyar, Tamer
The electrospinning of nanofibers (NF) from cyclodextrin inclusion complexes (CD-IC) with an antibacterial agent (triclosan) was achieved without using any carrier polymeric matrix. Polymer-free triclosan/CD-IC NF were electrospun from highly concentrated (160% CD, w/w) aqueous triclosan/CD-IC suspension by using two types of chemically modified CD; hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HPβCD) and hydroxypropyl-gamma-cyclodextrin (HPγCD). The morphological characterization of the electrospun triclosan/CD-IC NF by SEM elucidated that the triclosan/HPβCD-IC NF and triclosan/HPγCD-IC NF were bead-free having average fiber diameter of 520±250nm and 1100±660nm, respectively. The presence of triclosan and the formation of triclosan/CD-IC within the fiber structure were confirmed by 1H-NMR, FTIR, XRD, DSC, and TGA studies. The initial 1:1molar ratio of the triclosan:CD was kept for triclosan/HPβCD-IC NF after the electrospinning and whereas 0.7:1molar ratio was observed for triclosan/HPγCD-IC NF and some uncomplexed triclosan was detected suggesting that the complexation efficiency of triclosan with HPγCD was lower than that of HPβCD. The antibacterial properties of triclosan/CD-IC NF were tested against Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) and Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) bacteria. It was observed that triclosan/HPβCD-IC NF and triclosan/HPγCD-IC NF showed better antibacterial activity against both bacteria compared to uncomplexed pure triclosan.
Open Access
Antibacterial electrospun zein nanofibrous web encapsulating thymol/cyclodextrin-inclusion complex for food packaging
(Elsevier, 2017-10) Aytac Z.; Ipek, S.; Durgun, Engin; Tekinay, T.; Uyar, Tamer
Thymol (THY)/γ-Cyclodextrin(γ-CD) inclusion complex (IC) encapsulated electrospun zein nanofibrous webs (zein-THY/γ-CD-IC-NF) were fabricated as a food packaging material. The formation of THY/γ-CD-IC (1:1 and 2:1) was proved by experimental (X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), 1H NMR) and computational techniques. THY/γ-CD-IC (2:1) exhibited higher preservation rate and stability than THY/γ-CD-IC (1:1). It is worth mentioning that zein-THY/γ-CD-IC-NF (2:1) preserved much more THY as observed in TGA and stability of THY/γ-CD-IC (2:1) was higher, as shown by a modelling study. Therefore, much more THY was released from zein-THY/γ-CD-IC-NF (2:1) than zein-THY-NF and zein-THY/γ-CD-IC-NF (1:1). Similarly, antibacterial activity of zein-THY/γ-CD-IC-NF (2:1) was higher than zein-THY-NF and zein-THY/γ-CD-IC-NF (1:1). It was demonstrated that zein-THY/γ-CD-IC-NF (2:1) was most effective in inhibiting the growth of bacteria on meat samples. These webs show potential application as an antibacterial food packaging material.
Open Access
Antioxidant activity and photostability of α-tocopherol/β-cyclodextrin inclusion complex encapsulated electrospun polycaprolactone nanofibers
(Elsevier, 2016-06) Aytaç, Zeynep; Uyar, Tamer
Cyclodextrin inclusion complexes (CD-ICs) can be encapsulated into electrospun nanofibers in order to achieve delivery systems having high surface area and highly porous nanofibrous structures. In this study, a well-known antioxidant molecule, α-tocopherol (α-TC) (vitamin E) was chosen as an active agent for inclusion complexation with β-cyclodextrin. Polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibers encapsulating α-tocopherol/β-cyclodextrin inclusion complex (α-TC/β-CD-IC) which has high antioxidant activity and photostability was produced via electrospinning (PCL/α-TC/β-CD-IC-NF). The formation of α-TC/β-CD-IC was confirmed by XRD. Phase solubility studies showed An-type complex formation between α-TC and β-CD. SEM revealed that bead-free nanofibers were successfully produced from PCL/α-TC/β-CD-IC system. PCL nanofibers encapsulating α-TC without CD-IC was also produced for comparison (PCL/α-TC-NF). Antioxidant test results showed that PCL/α-TC/β-CD-IC-NF had higher antioxidant activity as compared to PCL/α-TC-NF in methanol:water (1:1) system due to the stabilization and solubility increment of α-TC in the cavity of β-CD. PCL/α-TC/β-CD-IC-NF was more stable against UV-light when compared to PCL/α-TC-NF due to the presence of inclusion complexation. In brief, PCL/α-TC/β-CD-IC-NF with the advantages of having nanofibrous structure and encapsulating CD-ICs, may serve as a novel route for administration of α-TC due to its higher antioxidant activity and better UV-light stability.
Open Access
Bacteria encapsulated electrospun nanofibrous webs for remediation of methylene blue dye in water
(Elsevier, 2017-04) Sarioglu O.F.; Keskin, N. O. S.; Celebioglu A.; Tekinay, T.; Uyar, Tamer
In this study, preparation and application of novel biocomposite materials that were produced by encapsulation of bacterial cells within electrospun nanofibrous webs are described. A commercial strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa which has methylene blue (MB) dye remediation capability was selected for encapsulation, and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polyethylene oxide (PEO) were selected as the polymer matrices for the electrospinning of bacteria encapsulated nanofibrous webs. Encapsulation of bacterial cells was monitored by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and fluorescence microscopy, and the viability of encapsulated bacteria was checked by live/dead staining and viable cell counting assay. Both bacteria/PVA and bacteria/PEO webs have shown a great potential for remediation of MB, yet bacteria/PEO web has shown higher removal performances than bacteria/PVA web, which was probably due to the differences in the initial viable bacterial cells for those two samples. The bacteria encapsulated electrospun nanofibrous webs were stored at 4 °C for three months and they were found as potentially storable for keeping encapsulated bacterial cells alive. Overall, the results suggest that electrospun nanofibrous webs are suitable platforms for preservation of living bacterial cells and they can be used directly as a starting inoculum for bioremediation of water systems.
Open Access
Bacteria immobilized electrospun polycaprolactone and polylactic acid fibrous webs for remediation of textile dyes in water
(Elsevier, 2017-10) Sarioglu O.F.; S. Keskin, N. O.; Celebioglu A.; Tekinay, T.; Uyar, Tamer
In this study, preparation and application of novel biocomposite materials for textile dye removal which are produced by immobilization of specific bacteria onto electrospun nanofibrous webs are presented. A textile dye remediating bacterial isolate, Clavibacter michiganensis, was selected for bacterial immobilization, a commercial reactive textile dye, Setazol Blue BRF-X, was selected as the target contaminant, and electrospun polycaprolactone (PCL) and polylactic acid (PLA) nanofibrous polymeric webs were selected for bacterial integration. Bacterial adhesion onto nanofibrous webs was monitored by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging and optical density (OD) measurements were performed for the detached bacteria. After achieving sufficient amounts of immobilized bacteria on electrospun nanofibrous webs, equivalent web samples were utilized for testing the dye removal capabilities. Both bacteria/PCL and bacteria/PLA webs have shown efficient remediation of Setazol Blue BRF-X dye within 48 h at each tested concentration (50, 100 and 200 mg/L), and their removal performances were very similar to the free-bacteria cells. The bacteria immobilized webs were then tested for five times of reuse at an initial dye concentration of 100 mg/L, and found as potentially reusable with higher bacterial immobilization and faster dye removal capacities at the end of the test. Overall, these findings suggest that electrospun nanofibrous webs are available platforms for bacterial integration and the bacteria immobilized webs can be used as starting inocula for use in remediation of textile dyes in wastewater systems.
Open Access
Bioactive supramolecular peptide nanofibers for regenerative medicine
(Wiley, 2014) Arslan, Elif; Garip, I. Ceren; Gulseren, Gulcihan; Tekinay, Ayse B.; Güler, Mustafa O.
Recent advances in understanding of cell-matrix interactions and the role of the extracellular matrix (ECM) in regulation of cellular behavior have created new perspectives for regenerative medicine. Supramolecular peptide nanofiber systems have been used as synthetic scaffolds in regenerative medicine applications due to their tailorable properties and ability to mimic ECM proteins. Through designed bioactive epitopes, peptide nanofiber systems provide biomolecular recognition sites that can trigger specific interactions with cell surface receptors. The present Review covers structural and biochemical properties of the self-assembled peptide nanofibers for tissue regeneration, and highlights studies that investigate the ability of ECM mimetic peptides to alter cellular behavior including cell adhesion, proliferation, and/or differentiation.
Open Access
Biocompatible supramolecular catalytic one-dimensional nanofibers for efficient labeling of live cells
(American Chemical Society, 2015) Khalily, M. A.; Gulseren, G.; Tekinay, A. B.; Güler, Mustafa O.
Understanding complex cellular functions requires study and tracking of biomolecules such as proteins, glycans, and lipids in their natural environment. Herein, we report the first supramolecular nanocatalyst for bioorthogonal click reaction to label live cells. This biocompatible and biodegradable nanocatalyst was formed by self-assembled peptide nanofibers complexed with copper ions. The supramolecular nanocatalyst enhanced azide-alkyne cycloaddition reaction rate under physiological conditions and was shown to be useful for efficient bioorthogonal labeling of live cells.
Open Access
Biotinylated peptide nanofibers for modulating the immune response
(2016-06) Tohumeken, Şehmus
Despite the fact that vaccination eradicates many diseases, a broad variety of disorders cannot be treated using current vaccine development methods. In addition, it is difficult to rapidly develop new vaccines following the sudden onset of a new pandemic, as the production and transport of vaccines to impoverished areas is still a major issue. The lack of sufficient vaccine production, for example, enabled the spread of swine flu in 2009, while HIV, Zika and malaria viruses currently lack effective vaccinations. In addition, while cancer vaccines represent a promising area of research, their clinical implementation is also limited by the absence of rapid and effective vaccine development methods. The development of new and effective vaccines is therefore quite vital. Moreover, recently used vaccines promote either humoral or cellular immune responses, while effective treatment requires the induction of both systems. Consequently, there is an urgent need for effective and easy-to-prepare vaccines that are capable of eliciting immune action through multiple channels. Peptide amphiphiles are small molecules that are able to self-assemble into nanoscale fibrous networks. These nanofibers are biodegradable, biocompatible and do not generate toxic byproducts, making them ideal for designing biomaterials. As such, nanofibers are a promising class of materials for inducing an effective immune response and overcoming some of the problems faced by current vaccine development methods. In this thesis, I detail the use of biotinylated peptide nanofiber systems as immunomodulatory materials that are capable of incorporating a broad variety of antigens in a modular manner. Briefly, biotinylated and non-biotinylated peptide amphiphiles (PA) were first synthesized, purified and characterized to determine their material properties. PAs were then induced to self-assemble in the presence of CpG oligonucleotide (ODN) adjuvants, and ovalbumin was conjugated to self-assembled biotinylated-PA (B-PA) nanofibers by streptavidin linkers. Splenocytes were isolated from the mouse spleen and treated with bioactive nanofibers to investigate the effect of bioactive nanofibers on the immune response. Following the confirmation of an effective combined immune response, live mice were exposed to the nanofiber adjuvants as a proof-of-concept demonstration of in vivo PA-vaccine efficiency. Both in vivo and in vitro studies demonstrated that B-PA nanofibers are able to effectively modulate the immune response. Given these observations, I suggest that the B-PA nanofiber can be used as an immunomodulatory material for promoting effective immune response against extracellular and intracellular pathogens, and especially for the vaccine-based treatment of cancer. As the antigen presented by the PA system can be changed in a modular manner, B-PA nanofibers can also be employed to rapidly develop new vaccines against sudden outbreaks of new viral strains.
Open Access
Cellular internalization of therapeutic oligonucleotides by peptide amphiphile nanofibers and nanospheres
(American Chemical Society, 2016-04) Mumcuoglu, D.; S. Ekiz, M.; Gunay, G.; Tekinay, T.; Tekinay, A. B.; Güler, Mustafa O.
Oligonucleotides are promising drug candidates due to the exceptionally high specificity they exhibit toward their target DNA and RNA sequences. However, their poor pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties, in conjunction with problems associated with their internalization by cells, necessitates their delivery through specialized carrier systems for efficient therapy. Here, we investigate the effects of carrier morphology on the cellular internalization mechanisms of oligonucleotides by using self-assembled fibrous or spherical peptide nanostructures. Size and geometry were both found to be important parameters for the oligonucleotide internalization process; direct penetration was determined to be the major mechanism for the internalization of nanosphere carriers, whereas nanofibers were internalized by clathrin- and dynamin-dependent endocytosis pathways. We further showed that glucose conjugation to carrier nanosystems improved cellular internalization in cancer cells due to the enhanced glucose metabolism associated with oncogenesis, and the internalization of the glucose-conjugated peptide/oligonucleotide complexes was found to be dependent on glucose transporters present on the surface of the cell membrane.
Open Access
Chondrogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells on glycosaminoglycan-mimetic peptide nanofibers
(American Chemical Society, 2016) Yaylaci, S .U.; Sen, M.; Bulut, O.; Arslan, E.; Güler, Mustafa O.; Tekinay, A. B.
Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are important extracellular matrix components of cartilage tissue and provide biological signals to stem cells and chondrocytes for development and functional regeneration of cartilage. Among their many functions, particularly sulfated glycosaminoglycans bind to growth factors and enhance their functionality through enabling growth factor-receptor interactions. Growth factor binding ability of the native sulfated glycosaminoglycans can be incorporated into the synthetic scaffold matrix through functionalization with specific chemical moieties. In this study, we used peptide amphiphile nanofibers functionalized with the chemical groups of native glycosaminoglycan molecules such as sulfonate, carboxylate and hydroxyl to induce the chondrogenic differentiation of rat mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). The MSCs cultured on GAG-mimetic peptide nanofibers formed cartilage-like nodules and deposited cartilage-specific matrix components by day 7, suggesting that the GAG-mimetic peptide nanofibers effectively facilitated their commitment into the chondrogenic lineage. Interestingly, the chondrogenic differentiation degree was manipulated with the sulfonation degree of the nanofiber system. The GAG-mimetic peptide nanofibers network presented here serve as a tailorable bioactive and bioinductive platform for stem-cell-based cartilage regeneration studies.
Open Access
CO2 laser machining for microfluidics mold fabrication from PMMA with applications on viscoelastic focusing, electrospun nanofiber production, and droplet generation
(Elsevier, 2021-03-26) Güler, Mustafa Tahsin; Inal, M.; Bilican, İsmail
In this study, a new method for the fabrication of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microchannels through the replication of plexiglass molds was developed. A plexiglass slab is machined with CO2 laser in the raster mode to produce the mold for the PDMS casting. Then, the PDMS replica of the mold is plasma bonded to a substrate by applying more pressure than standard to overcome the surface roughness inherited from the laser machining process. Depending on the channel complexity, a ready to cast mold in the size of a glass slide can be achieved in 5–20 min, including the design, machining, and cleaning steps. This fully automated and cost-effective mold making method proved to be the fastest among all methods, and it enables up to 2.5 aspect ratio microchannels, down to a width of 60 μm, and a height of 23 μm. The raster mode of the laser provides features lower, in size, then the laser beam waist radius. The produced microchannels were validated using several applications, such as droplet generation, nanofiber production, and viscoelastic microparticle focusing.
Open Access
Colon targeted delivery of niclosamide from β-cyclodextrin inclusion complex incorporated electrospun Eudragit® L100 nanofibers
(Elsevier BV, 2021-01) Çoban, Ö.; Aytaç, Zeynep; Yıldız, Zehra İrem; Uyar, Tamer
Electrospun nanofibers incorporated with inclusion complex (IC) of niclosamide (NIC) and hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HPβCD) (NIC-HPβCD-IC) was produced from pH-responsive polymer (Eudragit® L100, EUD), which disintegrates at pH values higher than 6, (EUD-NIC-HPβCD-IC-NF) for targeted delivery of NIC to the colon. Pristine EUD nanofibers (EUD-NF), only NIC loaded (EUD-NIC-NF) and physical mixture of NIC and HPβCD loaded EUD nanofibers (EUD-NIC-HPβCD-NF) were also produced as reference. SEM images revealed the bead-free and uniform morphology of nanofibers. XRD, TGA, and DSC were also performed for both NIC-HPβCD-IC and electrospun nanofibers and it was seen that there are some NIC molecules, which cannot make IC. Dissolution studies were carried out for 240 min at pH 1.2 and pH 7 simulating stomach and colon, respectively. EUD-NIC-NF released almost 53 % of NIC in 120 min, whereas EUD-NIC-HPβCD-NF (15 %) and EUD-NIC-HPβCD-IC-NF (8 %) released at most 15 % of NIC in 120 min. Then, remained NIC in the nanofibers released into the colon for the next 120 min. The slight difference in the release of NIC into stomach from EUD-NIC-HPβCD-NF and EUD-NIC-HPβCD-IC-NF might be due to the uncomplexed NIC molecules in EUD-NIC-HPβCD-IC-NF. More importantly, EUD-NIC-HPβCD-IC-NF was quite effective for preventing the release of NIC in the stomach in contrast to EUD-NIC-NF, which has already released more than half amount of NIC in 120 min. In conclusion, this study might open new areas for developing targeted delivery systems by the combination of nanofibers and CD-ICs for hydrophobic drugs such as NIC.
Open Access
Cyclodextrin functionalized poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) electrospun nanofibers for organic vapors waste treatment
(Elsevier BV, 2010) Uyar, Tamer; Havelund, R.; Nur, Y.; Balan, A.; Hacaloglu, J.; Toppare, L.; Besenbacher, F.; Kingshott, P.
Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) nanofibers containing the inclusion complex forming betacyclodextrin (_-CD) were successfully produced by means of electrospinning in order to develop functional nanofibrous webs for organic vapor waste treatment. Electrospinning of uniform PMMA nanofibers containing different loadings of _-CD (10%, 25% and 50% (w/w)) was achieved. The surface sensitive spectroscopic techniques; X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) showed that some of the _-CD molecules are present on the surface of the PMMA nanofibers, which is essential for the trapping of organic vapors by inclusion complexation. Direct pyrolysis mass spectrometry (DP-MS) studies showed that PMMA nanowebs containing _-CD can entrap organic vapors such as aniline, styrene and toluene from the surroundings due to inclusion complexation with _-CD that is present on the fiber surface. Our study showed that electrospun nanowebs functionalized with cyclodextrinsmayhave the potential to be used as molecular filters and/or nanofilters for the treatment of organic vapor waste and air filtration purposes.
Open Access
Design and fabrication of auxetic PCL nanofiber membranes for biomedical applications
(Elsevier, 2017-12) Bhullar, S. K.; Rana, D.; Lekesiz, H.; Bedeloglu, A. C.; Ko, J.; Cho, Y.; Aytac Z.; Uyar, Tamer; Jun, M.; Ramalingam, M.
The main objective of this study was to fabricate poly (ε-caprolactone) (PCL)-based auxetic nanofiber membranes and characterize them for their mechanical and physicochemical properties. As a first step, the PCL nanofibers were fabricated by electrospinning with two different thicknesses of 40 μm (called PCL thin membrane) and 180 μm (called PCL thick membrane). In the second step, they were tailored into auxetic patterns using femtosecond laser cut technique. The physicochemical and mechanical properties of the auxetic nanofiber membranes were studied and compared with the conventional electrospun PCL nanofibers (non-auxetic nanofiber membranes) as a control. The results showed that there were no significant changes observed among them in terms of their chemical functionality and thermal property. However, there was a notable difference observed in the mechanical properties. For instance, the thin auxetic nanofiber membrane showed the magnitude of elongation almost ten times higher than the control, which clearly demonstrates the high flexibility of auxetic nanofiber membranes. This is because that the auxetic nanofiber membranes have lesser rigidity than the control nanofibers under the same load which could be due to the rotational motion of the auxetic structures. The major finding of this study is that the auxetic PCL nanofiber membranes are highly flexible (10-fold higher elongation capacity than the conventional PCL nanofibers) and have tunable mechanical properties. Therefore, the auxetic PCL nanofiber membranes may serve as a potent material in various biomedical applications, in particular, tissue engineering where scaffolds with mechanical cues play a major role.
Open Access
Development of biointegrated electrospun nanofibers for environmental applications
(2016-08) Sarıoğlu, Ömer Faruk
Electrospinning is an easy and economical production technique to produce nanofiber/nanofibrous webs from different polymers, polymer mixtures, inorganic materials, supramolecular structures and composite materials. These nanofibers have unique physical/chemical properties due to their large surface areas and highly nanoporous structures. Since these nanofibers have superior properties, various functions and can be modified by physical/chemical methods, they have a great potential to be applied in membrane/filter applications. Bioremediation is a commonly used technique for removal of water contaminants, and different kinds of bacteria have been used for bioremediation of water systems. Use of biointegrated hybrid materials is an alternative approach for bioremediation, and this may provide higher efficiency, ease of application and reusability. As a carrier system, electrospun nanofibers are suitable materials for integration of bacteria, since electrospinning can allow production of nano/micro scale composites with tunable physical/chemical properties. In this thesis, it was aimed to integrate bacteria that have bioremediation capability with electrospun nanofibers by using immobilization/encapsulation techniques and test the potential of these biocomposites for treatment of contaminated water systems. The integration of bacteria that can remediate ammonium, heavy metal, textile dye and surfactant with electrospun nanofibers was achieved by two different approaches. In the first approach, bacterial cells were physically immobilized on cellulose acetate (CA), polysulfone (PSU), polystyrene (PS), polycaprolactone (PCL) and polylactic acid (PLA) electrospun nanofibers. In order to observe effects of nanofiber/nanofibrous web morphology and arrangements on the immobilization of bacteria, some of these nanofibers were produced as porous, parallelly arranged, and with different diameters. In the second approach, by using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polyethylene oxide (PEO) polymers, simultaneous encapsulation of bacteria in nanofiber structures was provided. Afterwards, all these different kinds of biocomposites were tested for their remediation potential in accordance with the intended use of the integrated bacteria.
Open Access
Development of photoanodes for performance enhanced dye sensitized solar cells
(2015-08) Ulusoy, Türkan Gamze
With a raising demand for clean and renewable energy sources in recent decades, dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC), as an efficient and low-cost solar cell technology, have attracted considerable attention and several efforts have been directed for the optimization of all components of DSSCs including photoanode, sensitizer dye, hole transport layer and counter electrode. The objective of this thesis is to provide a better understanding on the function of photoanode in overall performance of DSSC device by highlighting problems and limitations and offering proper solutions to tackle these deficiencies. Based on this understanding, this thesis reports, fabrication, characterization and analysis of designed three different cells to boost device photovoltaic performance which includes: 1) angstrom thick ZnO-sheathed TiO2 nanowires as photoanodes, 2) multifunctional omnidirectional antireflective coating, 3) peptide nanofiber network templated ALD-grown TiO2 nanostructures as photoanodes in DSSC. Since photoanode-dye interface engineering is of utmost importance, the first of our proposals in this thesis relies on a systematic approach to understand the impact of atomic layer deposited (ALD) angstrom-thick ZnO sheath on hydrothermally grown TiO2 nanowires (NWs) core utilized as photoanodes in DSSC. The results show that this ultrathin layer will contribute at device efficiency enhancement almost three times via reducing recombination rate of injected electrons, enhancement in collection efficiency of electrons via reducing density of surface trap states without hampering injection efficiency and increased dye uptake on TiO2 nanowires’ surface which in turn leads to increased light absorption. On the other work, we also utilized multifunctional organically modified silica (ORMOSIL) as antireflection coating layer on DSSC to improve conversion efficiency of the device via reduction in the light reflection. ORMOSIL coated DSSC surfaces show a low-reflective omnidirectional response in a wide range of wavelengths (400-800 nm). At normal incidence (𝜃=0°), the short circuit current density (JSC) is improved to an amount of 23% as a result of ORMOSIL coating. In addition, JSC meets even higher amounts of enhancement where 84% increase is recorded at 𝜃=30°. Moreover, this coating exhibits superhydrophobicity representing a contact angle of 155º. Finally, we proposed and implemented, self-assembled peptide amphiphiles nanofiber 3D networks in order to obtain TiO2 nanotube structures as a template in DSSC. These self-assembled peptide amphiphiles are resistant to high temperature and more durable than other kinds of peptide amphiphiles. The advantage of this 3D fiber composed template is its high surface area and interconnected solid support providing an effective template for formation of TiO2 network using ALD. On the other hand, since ALD offers uniform and conformal coating of high aspect ratio features, it ensures an ideal thin film coating method on high surface area nano-template materials such as the peptide nanofiber templates proposed in this study.
Open Access
Drug delivery system based on cyclodextrin-naproxen inclusion complex incorporated in electrospun polycaprolactone nanofibers
(Elsevier, 2014) Canbolat, M. F.; Celebioglu A.; Uyar, Tamer
In this study, we select naproxen (NAP) as a reference drug and electrospun poly (e-caprolactone) (PCL) nanofibers as a fibrous matrix for our drug-delivery system. NAP was complexed with beta-cyclodextrin (βCD) to form inclusion complex (NAP-βCD-IC) and then NAP-βCD-IC was incorporated into PCL nanofibers via electrospinning. The incorporation of NAP without CD-IC into electrospun PCL was also carried out for a comparative study. Our aim is to analyze the release profiles of NAP from PCL/NAP and PCL/NAP-βCD-IC nanofibers and we investigate the effect of CD-IC on the release behavior of NAP from the nanofibrous PCL matrix. The characterization of NAP-βCD-IC and the presence of CD-IC in PCL/NAP-βCD-IC nanofibers were studied by FTIR, XRD, TGA, NMR and SEM. The SEM imaging of the electrospun PCL/NAP and PCL/NAP-βCD-IC nanofibers reveal that the average fiber diameter of these nanofibers is around 300. nm, in addition, the aggregates of CD-IC in PCL/NAP-βCD-IC nanofibers is observed. The release study of NAP in buffer solution elucidate that the PCL/NAP-βCD-IC nanofibers have higher release amount of NAP than the PCL/NAP nanofibers due to the solubility enhancement of NAP by CD-IC.