Poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) films reinforced with polylactide (PLA) microfibers were prepared by two methodologies: a) melt pressing of an electrospun PLA mat between two PCL films, and b) melt pressing of a co-electrospun mat composed of PLA microfibers and PCL nanofibers. Electrospinning conditions were selected for each polymer to obtain films loaded with 10, 20 and 30 wt% of PLA. Thermal and...

Highly birefringent (Hi-Bi) microfiber-based fiber loop mirrors (FLMs) were studied for tunable comb filters and refractive index (RI) sensors. The use of two cascaded Hi-Bi microfibers instead of a single microfiber allows more flexibility in controlling the transmission/reflection characteristics of the FLM. The length of Hi-Bi microfibers is of the order of centimeters, one or even more than...

We have successfully demonstrated a polarization-maintaining (PM) fused silica microfiber by adiabatically tapering a conventional PM fiber. Compared to standard single-mode microfibers, the proposed PM microfibers exhibit robust polarization, preserving characteristics under the presence of external perturbations, such as bending. A polarization-extinction ratio of 16 dB is typically obtained ...

Mimicking the structural organization and biologic function of natural extracellular matrix has been one of the main goals of tissue engineering. Nevertheless, the majority of scaffolding materials for bone regeneration highlights biochemical functionality in detriment of mechanical properties. In this work we present a rather innovative construct that combines in the same structure electrospun...

In microvascular vessels, endothelial cells are aligned longitudinally whereas several components of the extracellular matrix (ECM) are organized circumferentially. While current three-dimensional (3D) in vitro models for microvasculature have allowed the study of ECM-regulated tubulogenesis, they have limited control over topographical cues presented by the ECM and impart a barrier for the hig...

The present paper reports the development of an in situ nanotensilometer that enables highly reliable mechanical tensile testing on individual micro-/nano-scale structures. The device features independent measurement of force and displacement histories in the specimen with nanoNewton force and sub-nanometer displacement resolutions, respectively. Moreover, the device is well suited for in situ ...

Biodegradable poly(L-lactic acid) (PLA) fibrous scaffolds were prepared by electrospinning from a PLA melt containing poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) as a plasticizer to obtain thinner fibers. The effects of PEG on the melt electrospinning of PLA were examined in terms of the melt viscosity and fiber diameter. Among the parameters, the content of PEG had a more significant effect on the average fib...

Optical microfibers possess excellent optical and mechanical properties that have been exploited for sensing. We highlight the authors' recent work in the areas of current, temperature, acceleration, acoustic, humidity and ultraviolet-light sensing based on this exquisite technology, and the advantages and challenges of using optical microfibers are discussed.

The surface morphology of micro- and nano- scale fiber determines its application to a great extent. At present, variety secondary microfibers nanofibers, such as porous, wrinkle, groove so on, have been prepared. Among them, grooved fibers are attracting more attention because their unique properties. In this paper, we review the literature on due void-based elongation, wrinkle-based collapsed...

All-fiber fourth and fifth harmonic generation from a single source is demonstrated experimentally and analyzed theoretically. Light from a fully fiberized high power master oscillator power amplifier is launched into a periodically poled silica fiber generating the second harmonic. The output is then sent through two optical microfibers that generate the third and fourth harmonic, respectively...