# Antigate Melt-Electrowritten Biodegradable Mesh Implants for Enhanced Pelvic Organ Prolapse Repair
## 4 Discussion  
The optimization of the MEW printing parameters (temperature, collector speed, and applied voltage) was fundamental to ensure the formation of continuous, well-defined fibers. During the calibration process, it was observed that lower temperatures or voltages led to polymer accumulation at the nozzle, whereas excessively high voltages or collector speeds resulted in fiber discontinuities. The optimal parameters found--200 \({}^{\circ}\)C, 1200 mm/min collector speed, and 3.43 kV--are consistent with those reported in the literature for high-resolution PCL printing [39], supporting their suitability for MEW-based fabrication. The incorporation of the antistatic agent HT improved jet stability and fiber deposition during printing. The amphiphilic nature of HT enhances surface conductivity by facilitating charge dissipation, reducing jet whipping, and material accumulation at the nozzle. These effects enabled a reduction in fiber diameter of up to 66%, while maintaining excellent control over mesh geometry. These findings align with prior studies using antistatic agents in melt electrospinning and thermoplastics, where increased ionic conductivity was shown to reduce fiber diameter and improve print fidelity [25]. Interestingly, although the HT-loaded meshes had smaller fiber diameters, they displayed enhanced mechanical properties--specifically, increased tensile strength and stiffness. This is in contrast to traditional behavior in PCL systems, where thinner fibers often result in reduced mechanical resistance. Our results suggest that HT not only improves printability but also modifies the internal structure of PCL, potentially increasing crystallinity or chain alignment. This hypothesis is supported by DSC results, which showed broadened melting peaks at higher HT concentrations, indicating heterogeneous or altered crystalline domains. In a recent study [40], a polymer-type antistatic agent called TMQ, prepared from TPEG, MAH, and a quaternary ammonium salt (QAS), was mixed with polypropylene (PP) to evaluate its effects. Incorporating 15 wt% TMQ led to a 38.6% reduction in tensile strength and decreased crystallinity, while also lowering surface resistivity, indicating improved surface conductivity. In a separate study [41], 3, 6, and 9 wt% of Irgastat P 18 was added to PP/OMMT nanocomposites, causing a slight decrease in tensile strength with increasing additive concentration. Another investigation [42] on the ionic antistatic agent Allyl Trimethylammonium Chloride (TMA) in PMMA found that 1.25 wt% TMA reduced surface resistance by a factor of five and increased tensile strength by 38%. Compatibility with PMMA was further enhanced by adding Acrylic Acid (AA), which improved hydrogen bonding through increased molecular polarity. The previous studies showed that the incorporation of antistatic agents in polymers modifies their properties, namely tensile strength, surface resistivity, and crystallinity. In this study, the tensile strength increased by 14.42% and 24.10% for 0.03 wt% and 0.06 wt% of HT, respectively, when compared with PCL meshes with similar diameters. There was also an increase in Young's Modulus of 38.68% and 55.59% for 0.03 wt% and 0.06 wt% of HT, respectively. These results suggest that the interactions between PCL and HT promote hydrogen bonding between molecular chains, and the crystallization of the polymer may also be affected. When the crystallization level of a polymer increases, the intermolecular forces are stronger, so the movement of the polymer chains is reduced, and, therefore, the stiffness of the polymer increases [40]. By verifying an increase in the Young's Modulus values of the PCL/HT meshes, it can be concluded that the polymer's stiffness increased with HT incorporation, suggesting that the polymer's crystallization was also modified. Ultimately, it is necessary to consider whether it is advantageous or not to incorporate HT in PCL meshes.