Open AccessSIMPoly: A Matlab-Based Image Analysis Tool to Measure Electrospun Polymer Scaffold Fiber Diameter
Author(s) -
Ryan Murphy,
Ashley Turcott,
Leo Banuelos,
Evan Dowey,
Benjamin Goodwin,
Kristen O’Halloran Cardinal
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
tissue engineering. part c methods
Language(s) - Uncategorized
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.846
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1937-3392
pISSN - 1937-3384
DOI - 10.1089/ten.tec.2020.0304
Subject(s) - matlab , computer science , scanning electron microscope , measure (data warehouse) , fiber , plga , biomedical engineering , materials science , electrospinning , polymer , artificial intelligence , nanotechnology , composite material , data mining , engineering , nanoparticle , operating system
Quantifying fiber diameter is important for characterizing electrospun polymer scaffolds. Many researchers use manual measurement methods, which can be time-consuming and variable. Semi-automated tools exist, but there is room for improvement. The current work used Matlab to develop an image analysis program to quickly and consistently measure fiber diameter in scanning electron micrographs. The new Matlab method, termed "SIMPoly" (Semiautomated Image Measurements of Polymers) was validated by using synthetic images with known fiber size and was found to be accurate. The Matlab method was also applied by three different researchers to scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of electrospun poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA). Results were compared with the semi-automated DiameterJ method and a manual ImageJ measurement approach, and it was found that the Matlab-based SIMPoly method provided measurements in the expected range and with the least variability between researchers. In conclusion, this work provides and describes SIMPoly, a Matlab-based image analysis method that can simply and accurately measure polymer fiber diameters in SEM images with minimal variation between users.