Summary
Hydrogels make attractive scaffolds for tissue engineering, but their weak structure limits use, and embedding electrospun fibres is one way to reinforce them. This study asks how chemically functionalising a polysaccharide backbone changes its ability to be electrospun, using hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) and its silanised derivative (Si-HPMC) as a case study. Because electrospinning is a step-by-step, multi-parameter process, the authors first optimised solution and process conditions: fibres were produced from 2–3% w/v solutions in water and ethanol, and solution viscosity was correlated with spinnability, while changes in the process parameters had little effect on fibre morphology once a workable window was found. HPMC/Si-HPMC mixtures were then spun in both silanol- and silanolate-terminated forms and analysed by scanning electron microscopy and EDX, confirming the feasibility of the strategy and the influence of polar head groups on electrospinnability.