Preparation of hydroxypropyl cellulose microfibers by high-speed rotary spinning and prediction of the fiber-forming properties of hydroxypropyl cellulose gels by texture analysis

Water-soluble, nonionic cellulose-based fibers were prepared from aqueous hydroxypropyl cellulose gels of 5–13-μm diameter by using a high-speed rotary spinning technique. A combination of texture analysis and viscosity measurement was applied to determine the optimum concentration of hydroxypropyl cellulose gels for fiber formation. The examined concentration range of hydroxypropyl cellulose gels was 38–52 % w/w. The textural properties including the adhesiveness of gels of different concentrations were determined based on the load-distance and load-time curves, while the obtained fiber formation was visually observed with an optical microscope. The texture analysis method enabled the determination of the optimum gel concentration from the point of fiber formation. An unequivocal correlation was determined between the adhesiveness of gels and their fiber-forming ability. The adhesiveness has a local minimum where the productivity of the fiber formation process and the micromorphology of the emitted fibers are optimal. Statistical analysis of the distribution of fiber diameters confirmed that in case of the optimum concentration, the distribution approaches normality. Mechanical properties of the prepared fibers were also evaluated using texture analysis, which indicated that the fibers made of gels of the suggested optimum concentration had the most desirable elastic behavior. An optimum concentration range of hydroxypropyl cellulose exists that enables fiber formation with the required characteristics from the point of further pharmaceutical formulation processing.