The conception of electrospinning can trace its roots back more than 400 years, when it was observed that rubbed amber can deform a droplet of water on a smooth surface, and is based upon simple concepts of charge separation and surface tension. Since that time, considerable effort has been directed at both the cause and utility of this phenomenon. The specific aim of this dissertation project was to develop an automated electrostatic processing apparatus that was capable of controlling the three-dimensional architecture of an electrospun scaffold to further improve its utility in tissue engineering. The efficacy of using this technique has been well documented and can be adapted to produce tissue engineering scaffolds for a variety of tissues and organs. This apparatus incorporates precise mandrel motion. The system is capable of 0 - 5000 revolution per minute rotation, 0 - 25 inch per second translation and ± 40° rotation about the electrospinning jet axis for repeatable scaffold production. Fiber alignment and scaffold density are precisely controlled by rotating a mandrel along one axis, translation along that same axis, and rotation around the second axis perpendicular to the electrospun fiber stream. The control is accomplished with a PC based "supervisory" control program written partially in the LabVIEW® programming language and partially in SI Programmer supplied by Applied Motion Products. Scaffold thickness and fiber diameters are determined by the syringe metering pump flow rate, material being electrospun and solution concentrations. Through extensive laboratory analysis (mechanical testing and both optical and electron microscopy), parameters such as fiber orientation, diameter and mechanics can be predictive from specific polymer setups. Our laboratory has demonstrated the ability to electrospin natural and synthetic polymers and this apparatus will be utilized to tailor scaffolds to meet specific tissue engineering needs by creating a truly biomimicking scaffold / extracellular matrix.

Mucin networks are formed by the complexation of bottlebrush-like mucin glycoprotein with other small molecule glycoproteins. These glycoproteins create nanoscale strands that then arrange into a nanoporous mesh. These networks play an important role in ensuring surface hydration, lubricity and barrier protection. In order to understand the functional behavior in mucin networks, it is important to decouple their chemical and physical effects responsible for generating the fundamental property-function relationship. To achieve this goal, we propose to develop a synthetic biomimetic mucin using a layer-by-layer (LBL) deposition approach. In this work, a hierarchical 3-dimensional structures resembling natural mucin networks was generated using affinity-based interactions on synthetic and biological surfaces. Unlike conventional polyelectrolyte-based LBL methods, pre-assembled biotin-functionalized filamentous (worm-like) micelles was utilized as the network building block, which from complementary additions of streptavidin generated synthetic networks of desired thickness. The biomimetic nature in those synthetic networks are studied by evaluating its structural and bio-functional properties. Structurally, synthetic networks formed a nanoporous mesh. The networks demonstrated excellent surface hydration property and were able capable of microbial capture. Those functional properties are akin to that of natural mucin networks. Further, the role of synthetic mucin as a drug delivery vehicle, capable of providing localized and tunable release was demonstrated. By incorporating antibacterial curcumin drug loading within synthetic networks, bacterial growth inhibition was also demonstrated. Thus, such bioactive interfaces can serve as a model for independently characterizing mucin network properties and through its role as a drug carrier vehicle it presents exciting future opportunities for localized drug delivery, in regenerative applications and as bio-functional implant coats.