Axon mimicking hydrophilic hollow polycaprolactone microfibres for diffusion magnetic resonance imaging

作者：Zhou, Feng-Lei^*; Li, Zhanxiong; Gough, Julie E.; Cristinacce, Penny L. Hubbard; Parker, Geoff J. M.^*

来源：Materials and Design, 2018, 137: 394-403.

DOI：10.1016/j.matdes.2017.10.047

• Axon mimic
• Polycaprolactone
• Hydrophilic hollow microfibres
• Co-electrospinning
• Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging

Highly hydrophilic hollow polycaprolactone (PCL) microfibres were developed as building elements to create tissue-mimicking test objects (phantoms) for validation of diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). These microfibres were fabricated by the co-electrospinning of PCL-polysiloxane-based surfactant (PSi) mixture as shell and polyethylene oxide as core. The addition of PSi had a significant effect on the size of resultant electrospun fibres and the formation of hollow microfibres. The presence of PSi in both co-electrospun PCL microfibre surface and cross-section, revealed by X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDX), enabled water towet these fibres completely (i.e., zero contact angle) and remained active for up to 12-months after immersing inwater. PCL and PCL-PSi fibres with uniaxial orientationwere constructed intowater-filled phantoms. MR measurement revealed that water molecules diffuse anisotropically in the PCL-PSi phantom. Co-electrospun hollow PCL-PSi microfibres have desirable hydrophilic properties for the construction of a new generation of tissue-mimicking dMRI phantoms.

• 出版日期2018-1-5
• 单位苏州大学