Characterization of bulk properties of nanofibrous scaffolds from nanomechanical properties of single nanofibers

Abstract This article presents a method of characterizing the macromechanical properties of polymer nanofibrous scaffolds based on the nanomechanical properties obtained for a single nanofiber. Here, we use the example of a poly(L‐lactic acid) (PLLA) nanofibrous scaffold that can be used for tissue engineering application. The elastic modulus of a single nanofiber obtained previously from a nanoscale three‐point bend test performed using atomic force microscopy was used to model the elastic modulus and elastic collapse stress of the bulk scaffold. Various open‐cell solid models are examined for the modeling of bulk scaffold behavior. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res, 2006