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. 2019 Sep 14;9(9):1317.
doi: 10.3390/nano9091317.

A Portable Electrospinner for Nanofiber Synthesis and Its Application for Cosmetic Treatment of Alopecia

Richard A Revia  1 , Brandon A Wagner  2 , Miqin Zhang  3   4
Affiliations

A Portable Electrospinner for Nanofiber Synthesis and Its Application for Cosmetic Treatment of Alopecia

Richard A Revia et al. Nanomaterials (Basel). .

Abstract

A portable, handheld electrospinning apparatus is designed and constructed using off-the-shelf components and 3D-printed parts. The portable electrospinner is used to generate nanofibers with diameters ranging from 85 to 600 nm; examination of these fibers is achieved with scanning electron microscopy. This portable electrospinner has similar capabilities to standard stationary benchtop electrospinners in terms of the diversity of polymers the device is able to spin into nanofibers and their resulting size and morphology. However, it provides much more ambulatory flexibility, employs current-limiting measures that allow for safer operation and is cost effective. As a demonstration of the device's unique application space afforded by its portability, the device is applied in direct-to-skin electrospinning to improve the aesthetics of simulated hair loss in a mouse model by electrospinning dyed polyacrylonitrile nanofibers that mimic hair. The superficial nanofiber treatment for thinning hair is able to achieve an improvement in appearance similar to that of a commercially available powder product but outperforms the powder in the nanofiber's superior adherence to the affected area. The portable electrospinning apparatus overcomes many limitations of immobile benchtop electrospinners and holds promise for applications in consumer end-use scenarios such as the treatment of alopecia via cosmetic hair thickening.

Keywords: alopecia; cosmetics; electrospinning; nanofibers; portable device.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Handheld electrospinner device. (a) Main PCB with two HV DC-DC converters: positive (left) and negative (right). (b) Syringe pump driven by a stepper motor. (c) Front panel user interface. Fully constructed handheld electrospinning apparatus with (d) the handle detached and (e) the handle attached.
Figure 2
Figure 2
An array of nanofibers synthesized with the portable electrospinner: (a) 4 wt.% CA in acetone/water, (b) 6 wt.% PVA in THF, (c) 10 wt.% PAN in DMF, (d) 6 wt.% PEO in water, (e) 15 wt.% PCL in TFE and (f) 15 wt.% PVDF in DMF/acetone. Insets show SEM images of higher magnification.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Array of nanofibers synthesized with a conventional benchtop electrospinner: (a) 4 wt.% CA in acetone/water, (b) 6 wt.% PVA in THF, (c) 10 wt.% PAN in DMF, (d) 6 wt.% PEO in water, (e) 15 wt.% PCL in TFE and (f) 15 wt.% PVDF in DMF/acetone.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Beads electrosprayed from (a) 12 wt.% PS in THF and (b) 5 wt.% PVP in ethanol.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Application of the portable electrospinner for hair thickening. (a) A black-haired mouse with a small patch of hair removed. (b) Hair-thickening with black-dyed, electrospun PAN nanofibers. (c) Hair-thickening with a commercial powder product (Toppik™). (d) SEM image of the dyed PAN nanofibers. (e) Virtually no residue is left after contacting the nanofiber-treated skin to a napkin. (f) Significant residue left after contacting the Toppik™-treated skin to a napkin.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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