Srijanani Bhaskar, Graduate Student, Macromolecular Science and Engineering

This image depicts fibers made from electrospinning, which is co-extrusion of two polymer solutions under an electric field.  This would be equivalent to squeezing two-colored toothpaste out of a tube, only that the “squeezing’ or co-extrusion here results in a fiber that is ten times thinner than human hair, and has the same physical features as hair.  The polymer solutions are prelabeled with fluorescent dyes that result in bright blue and green colors. These derivatized polymers are biodegradable and could be used in bioengineering applications. The cross section of the fiber when analyzed via confocal laser scanning microscopy produces the image.