Mueller Matrix Measurement of Electrospun Fiber Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering

authored by

Dierk Fricke, Alexander Becker, Lennart Jütte, Michael Bode, Dominik de Cassan, Merve Wollweber, Birgit Glasmacher, Bernhard Roth

Abstract

Electrospun fiber scaffolds are gaining in importance in the area of tissue engineering. They can be used, for example, to fabricate graded implants to mimic the tendon bone junction. For the grading of the tensile strength of the fiber scaffolds, the orientation of the fibers plays a major role. This is currently measured by hand in scanning electron microscope (SEM) images. In this work, a correlation between polarimetric information generated by measuring the Mueller matrix (MM) and the orientation of the fibers of electrospun fiber scaffolds is reported. For this, the MM of fiber scaffolds, which were manufactured with different production parameters, was measured and analyzed. These data were correlated with fiber orientation and mechanical properties, which were evaluated in an established manner. We found that by measurement of the MM the production parameters as well as the relative orientation of the fibers in space can be determined. Thus, the MM measurement is suitable as an alternative tool for non-contact, non-destructive determination of the production parameters and, thus, the degree of alignment of electrospun fiber scaffolds.

Organisation(s)

Hannover Centre for Optical Technologies (HOT)
Institute of Multiphase Processes
PhoenixD: Photonics, Optics, and Engineering - Innovation Across Disciplines

External Organisation(s)

Technische Universität Braunschweig
Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V. (LZH)

Type

Article

Journal

Polymers

Volume

11

ISSN

2073-4360

Publication date

12.2019

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Chemistry(all), Polymers and Plastics

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.3390/polym11122062 (Access: Open)
https://doi.org/10.15488/10768 (Access: Open)