Adhesion and Permeation in Adhesive Nanofibrous Materials

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Nanofibrous materials have unique features of high porosity and ultra-high surface-to-volume ratio, which allow them to be used in a wide variety of applications, including highly absorptive materials, filtration membranes, chemically or biologically protective devices, membranes supporting smart materials, and scaffold for tissue engineering. Functionalization of nanofibrous materials can further enhance their performance. In the proposed research, we will develop and characterize nanofibres with outstanding adhesive properties in a dry and/or a wet environment. The strong binding properties of the adhesive protein secreted by marine mussels have inspired tremendous work in the last decade to engineer material surfaces to endow excellent adhesive properties. Mussel-inspired polydopamine-based materials have been used to functionalize various material surfaces. *** The advantages of nanofibrous materials, as compared to other types of materials, are that they provide a unique structure with flexibility yet good mechanical strength, as well as high porosity and surface areas. The tortuous structure of nanofibrous materials, on the other hand, makes the studies even more challenging than solid and flat materials. Therefore, the long-term objective of the proposed research is to characterize the relationship between the structures, surface properties, and the transport properties of nanofibrous materials. The short term objectives are 1) to develop functional nanofibrous membranes with excellent adhesive properties, 2) to characterize the morphology, structure and adhesive properties of the nanofibrous materials, and 3) to study the multi-scale transport in nanofibrous structures and its impact on the stability of the adhesive properties of nanofibrous materials. *** The proposed research will involve the training of five graduate (three MSc and two PhD) students. The students are expected to gain skills in biomaterials development, characterization and computer modeling. They will also improve their skills in presentation, scientific writing, problem solving and teamwork through the interdisciplinary work.*** The proposed research will develop a novel multi-scale approach for the studies of surface and transport phenomena in functional nanofibrous materials. The results of the proposed research will provide groundwork in the development of new nanofibrous materials to meet emerging needs in advanced applications, including filtration/separation, wound care and tissue regenerations. The proposed studies will lead to commercial and economic benefits: by developing high value-added products; the provincial and Canadian textile and material industry will enhance its competitiveness and increase its proportion of the textile market in biomedical and technical sectors, contributing to the country's economic growth and job creation.**