Development of an equipment to prepare nanofibers for tissue engineering since a standpoint of the industrial design

Abstract

The use of electrospinning equipment built empirically for preparation of nanofibers and for research processes has confirmed the existence of design problems. Some of them are: the user interaction, equipment and environment; the location and calibration of injectors; the design, location and handling of collectors; the wiring and instrumentation equipment, etc. It has become evident to some users. The foregoing, has made palpable the need to perform an assessment from the Industrial Design point of view of this type of equipment and the generation of a design proposal for one more functional electrospinning equipment. As a case study, we evaluated and studied from different points of view (ease and safety of usability, user interaction, equipment and environment, quality of manufactured of fibers, etc). Initially an equipment of electrospinning was designed and manufactured by researchers from Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia-UPTC. This equipment allows experimentation with fibers in the micro and nano scale. It is being used for the synthesis and preparation of biomaterials potentially useful for tissue regeneration by their nanometric size; for cell adhesion and the generation of pores for fluid ingress. Subsequently, an analysis of usability and the main problems in handling were identified, so that the new design would have more security and a correct interaction between user and computer environment. The design of a new equipment electrospinning incorporating a positioning system injectorcollector in the X, Y, Z and seeks greater precision, dimensional variety and order in the fibers was proposed. It also will facilitate and enable researchers to experiment with different ensembles team to achieve better mechanical, physical and chemical properties of the fibers. Also, in this new design involved people in industrial design, mechanical and electronics engineering and chemistry working daily with this equipment electrospinning.