Applications Of Electrospun Nanofibers Research Articles

Pharmaceutical/Biomedical Applications of Electrospun Nanofibers - Comprehensive Review, Attentive to Process Parameters and Patent Landscape.

Nanotechnology is a new science and business endeavour with worldwide economic benefits. Growing knowledge of nanomaterial fabrication techniques has increased the focus on nanomaterial preparation for various purposes. Nanofibers are one-dimensional nanomaterials having distinct physicochemical properties and characteristics. Nanofibers are nanomaterial types with a cross-sectional dimension of tens to hundreds of nanometres. They may create high porosity mesh networks with significant interconnections among pores, making them suitable for advanced applications. Electrospinning stands out for its ease of use, flexibility, low cost, and variety among the approaches described in the literature. The most common method for making nanofibers is electrospinning. This article extensively describes and summarizes the impact of various process variables on the fabrication of nanofibers. Special attention has been given to scientific and patent prospection to confirm the research interests in nanofibers.

Application of the Electrospinning Technique in Electrochemical Biosensors: An Overview.

Electrospinning is a cost-effective and flexible technology for producing nanofibers with large specific surface areas, functionalized surfaces, and stable structures. In recent years, electrospun nanofibers have attracted more and more attention in electrochemical biosensors due to their excellent morphological and structural properties. This review outlines the principle of electrospinning technology. The strategies of producing nanofibers with different diameters, morphologies, and structures are discussed to understand the regulation rules of nanofiber morphology and structure. The application of electrospun nanofibers in electrochemical biosensors is reviewed in detail. In addition, we look towards the future prospects of electrospinning technology and the challenge of scale production.

Research developments in the application of electrospun nanofibers in direct methanol fuel cells

Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) are an environment-friendly energy source that transforms chemical energy released by methanol oxidation into electrical energy.

Electrospun Nanofiber Membranes with Various Structures for Wound Dressing.

Electrospun nanofiber membranes (NFMs) have high porosity and a large specific surface area, which provide a suitable environment for the complex and dynamic wound healing process and a large number of sites for carrying wound healing factors. Further, the design of the nanofiber structure can imitate the structure of the human dermis, similar to the natural extracellular matrix, which better promotes the hemostasis, anti-inflammatory and healing of wounds. Therefore, it has been widely studied in the field of wound dressing. This review article overviews the development of electrospinning technology and the application of electrospun nanofibers in wound dressings. It begins with an introduction to the history, working principles, and transformation of electrospinning, with a focus on the selection of electrospun nanofiber materials, incorporation of functional therapeutic factors, and structural design of nanofibers and nanofiber membranes. Moreover, the wide application of electrospun NFMs containing therapeutic factors in wound healing is classified based on their special functions, such as hemostasis, antibacterial and cell proliferation promotion. This article also highlights the structural design of electrospun nanofibers in wound dressing, including porous structures, bead structures, core-shell structures, ordered structures, and multilayer nanofiber membrane structures. Finally, their advantages and limitations are discussed, and the challenges faced in their application for wound dressings are analyzed to promote further research in this field.

A Comparative Study of Nanofibers from Regenerated Cotton and Jute

ABSTRACT Nanofibers electrospun from cellulose sources have received substantial attention. Using trifluoro acetic acid (TFA) as the solvent, dissolved cotton and jute were comparatively electrospun to cotton nanofibers (CNFs) and jute nanofibers (JNFs), respectively. The viscosity and conductivity of the as-prepared polymer solutions were measured. The morphology, chemical structure, thermal stability and decomposition pattern together with the crystallinity index of the JNFs and CNFs were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. SEM analysis showed no major differences in surface morphology between JNFs and CNFs. The TGA results confirmed that the as-spun nanofibers have excellent thermal stability up to 210 ºC temperature before cellulose decomposition. The JNFs showed a similar degradation pattern as the CNFs. The results of this work will contribute to proposing appropriate applications of electrospun nanofibers from jute.

Electrospun zeolitic imidazolate framework-8/poly(lactic acid) nanofibers for pipette-tip micro-solid phase extraction of carbamate insecticides from environmental samples

In the present study, electrospun zeolitic imidazolate framework-8/poly(lactic acid) nanofibers were successfully synthesized and characterized as a potential nanosorbent for the pipette-tip micro-solid phase extraction of chlorpropham, pirimicarb, carbaryl, and methiocarb carbamate insecticides from environmental water samples. The extraction procedure was followed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry separation and determination of the target analytes. All the effective parameters of the extraction procedure were optimized through the one variable at-a-time method. Thanks to the very simple extraction procedure as well as the application of electrospun nanofibers with high surface area, the four analytes were efficiently extracted with as lowest extraction times as practicable. Under the optimal conditions, the calibration plots of the analytes were obtained within broad linear dynamic ranges of 0.5 – 150 ng mL −1 for chlorpropham and pirimicarb plus 1.0 – 175 ng mL −1 for carbaryl and methiocarb, respectively. Besides, limits of detection as low as 0.2 and 0.15 ng mL −1 for chlorpropham and pirimicarb, respectively, as well as 0.5 ng mL −1 for carbaryl and methiocarb indicate the favorable sensitivity of the analytical procedure. The applicability of the developed method was evaluated by quantitative determination of the target analytes in four different environmental water samples. Relative recoveries higher than 88.0% shows the acceptable accuracy of the method in the quantitative determination of the four carbamate insecticides.

Polysaccharide Electrospun Nanofibers for Wound Healing Applications.

As a type of biological macromolecule, natural polysaccharides have been widely used in wound healing due to their low toxicity, good biocompatibility, degradability and reproducibility. Electrospinning is a versatile and simple technique for producing continuous nanoscale fibers from a variety of natural and synthetic polymers. The application of electrospun nanofibers as wound dressings has made great progress and they are considered one of the most effective wound dressings. This paper reviews the preparation of polysaccharide nanofibers by electrospinning and their application prospects in the field of wound healing. A variety of polysaccharide nanofibers, including chitosan, starch, alginate, and hyaluronic acid are introduced. The preparation strategy of polysaccharide electrospun nanofibers and their functions in promoting wound healing are summarized. In addition, the future prospects and challenges for the preparation of polysaccharide nanofibers by electrospinning are also discussed.

Research Progress on the Applications of Electrospun Nanofibers in Catalysis

During the last two decades, electrospinning has become a very popular technique for the fabrication of nanofibers due to its low cost and simple handling. Nanofiber materials have found utilization in many areas such as medicine, sensors, batteries, etc. In catalysis, these materials also present important advantages, since they present a low resistance to internal diffusion and a high surface area to volume ratio. These advantages are mainly due to the diameter–length proportion. A bibliographic analysis on the applications of electrospun nanofibers in catalysis shows that there are two important groups of catalysts that are being investigated, based on TiO2 and in carbon materials. The main applications found are in photo- and in electro-catalysis. The present study contributes by reviewing these catalytic applications of electrospun nanofibers and demonstrating that they are promising materials as catalysts, underlining some works to prove the advantages and possibilities that these materials have as catalysts. On one hand, the possibilities of synthesis are almost infinite, since with coaxial electrospinning quite complex nanofibers with different layers can be prepared. On the other hand, the diameter and other properties can be controlled by monitoring the applied voltage and other parameters during the synthesis, being quite reproducible procedures. The main advantages of these materials can be grouped in two: one related to their morphology, as has been commented, relative to their low resistance and internal diffusion, that is, their fluidynamic behavior in the reactor; the second group involves advantages related to the fact that the active phases can be nanoscaled and dispersed, improving the activity and selectivity in comparison with conventional catalytic materials with the same chemical composition.

Recent developments of electrospun nanofibrous materials as novel adsorbents for water treatment

Electrospun nanofibers have shown great potential for removal of contaminants from aqueous solutions owing to their large specific surface area, high porosity, easy modification, and good compatibility with other functional materials. To date, hundreds of polymers have been successfully fabricated into ultrafine nanofibers by electrospinning for adsorption purposes. In this review, the recent progress in electrospun adsorbents is summarized, and special attention is paid to the critical parameters for electrospinning of ultrafine fibers, commonly used polymers and fillers, as well as the adsorption capacities of electrospun nanocomposites for various water contaminants removal. First, various parameters including solution viscosity, polymer molecular weight, applied voltage, tip-to-collector distance, and flow rate for the fabrication of defectless and uniform nanofibers are illustrated. Electrospun fibrous adsorbents are then categorized according to their compositions, such as single polymer adsorbents, polymer composite adsorbents, and filler-added polymeric adsorbents, and their adsorption capacities towards specific contaminants are compared with discussions on the adsorption mechanism. Finally, a conclusion on recent achievements and current challenges is stated, and prospects associated with the applications of electrospun nanofibers in water treatment are provided.

Applications of Electrospun Nanofibers with Antioxidant Properties: A Review.

Antioxidants can be encapsulated to enhance their solubility or bioavailability or to protect them from external factors. Electrospinning has proven to be an excellent option for applications in nanotechnology, as electrospun nanofibers can provide the necessary environment for antioxidant encapsulation. Forty-nine papers related to antioxidants loaded onto electrospun nanofibers were categorized and reviewed to identify applications and new trends. Medical and food fields were commonly proposed for the newly obtained composites. Among the polymers used as a matrix for the electrospinning process, synthetic poly (lactic acid) and polycaprolactone were the most widely used. In addition, natural compounds and extracts were identified as antioxidants that help to inhibit free radical and oxidative damage in tissues and foods. The most recurrent active compounds used were tannic acid (polyphenol), quercetin (flavonoid), curcumin (polyphenol), and vitamin B6 (pyridoxine). The incorporation of active compounds in nanofibers often improves their bioavailability, giving them increased stability, changing the mechanical properties of polymers, enhancing nanofiber biocompatibility, and offering novel properties for the required field. Although most of the polymers used were synthetic, natural polymers such as silk fibroin, chitosan, cellulose, pullulan, polyhydroxybutyrate, and zein have proven to be proper matrices for this purpose.

Developed methods for the preparation of electrospun nanofibers containing plant-derived oil or essential oil: a systematic review

Recently, natural health products as alternatives for synthetic/chemical substances have become a growing area of interest. Plant-derived essential oils or oils (E/Os) with a wide range of bioactivities such as anticancer, antibacterial, antifungal, and antioxidant activities are widely used among natural materials. Furthermore, nanofibers (NFs) with distinct properties, including large surface area, many available ingredients for preparation, and various preparation methods have attracted much attention. The present systematic review is an attempt to collect and document the recent studies from 01.01.2013 to 31.12.2018, indicating the loading of E/O in electrospun NFs. First, a summary of the electrospinning process and applications of electrospun NFs in medicine were given. Then, the three manners, which have been introduced for preparing E/O-loaded NFs so far, were described. Moreover, the main techniques for characterization of such NFs, e.g., evaluation of size and morphology, determination of the loaded amount of E/O in NFs, and investigating their release behavior, were explained.

Review: applications, effects and the prospects for electrospun nanofibrous mats in membrane separation

Electrospun nanofibrous mats own tremendous advantages and potential in membrane separation process due to their high porosity, large pore size and unique interconnected structure. However, most of membranes reported in the literature were based on phase inversion substrate, and there are few researches focused on applying electrospun nanofibrous mats on membrane separation. From this point of view, this review firstly introduces the electrospinning technology and controllable preparation of electrospun nanofibers, and then sums up the state-of-the-art applications, roles and shortcomings of electrospun nanofibrous mats in membrane separation, including microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration and forward osmosis. As for forward osmosis, the progress, currently existing problems, improvement methods and future development directions are emphasized particularly, and a novel three-tier thin-film composite structure is put forward on the basis of dual-layer thin-film composite structure of forward osmosis membranes. It is sincerely expected that this paper can provide some clues and guidance for further research and application of electrospun nanofibers in membrane separation.

Electrospinning of Nanofibers for Energy Applications

With global concerns about the shortage of fossil fuels and environmental issues, the development of efficient and clean energy storage devices has been drastically accelerated. Nanofibers are used widely for energy storage devices due to their high surface areas and porosities. Electrospinning is a versatile and efficient fabrication method for nanofibers. In this review, we mainly focus on the application of electrospun nanofibers on energy storage, such as lithium batteries, fuel cells, dye-sensitized solar cells and supercapacitors. The structure and properties of nanofibers are also summarized systematically. The special morphology of nanofibers prepared by electrospinning is significant to the functional materials for energy storage.

ナノファイバーの医療材料への応用に向けた取り組み

ナノファイバーの医療材料への応用に向けた取り組み

Applications of electrospun nanofibers in neural tissue engineering

Autografting and synthetic nerve grafts are options clinically to repair peripheral nerve defects which can occur due to trauma or a surgery. However, autografting suffers from limited donor site availability and synthetic nerve grafts have low efficiencies in repairing nerve defects. Recently electrospun nanofibers have emerged as an alternative approach to remedy these deficiencies. Electrospun nanofibers offer enhanced neurite outgrowth, ability to produce nanofiber based nerve guidance conduits and provides mechanical and biochemical cues to differentiate stem cells that have all shown promising results in neural tissue engineering.

Fabrication and Applications of Electrospun Nanofibers

1National Engineering Laboratory for Modern Silk, College of Textile and Clothing Engineering, Soochow University, 199 Ren-Ai Road, Suzhou 215123, China 2Nantong Textile Institute, Soochow University, 58 Chongchuan Road, Nantong 226018, China 3Advanced Materials and Process Engineering Laboratory, University of British Columbia, 111-2355 East Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4 4Department of Mechanical Engineering at Nushirvani Engineering Complex, Mazandaran University, Babolsar 47416-95447, Iran 5Department of Mathematics, Shanghai University, 99 Shangda Road, Shanghai 200444, China

A Review of the Effect of Processing Variables on the Fabrication of Electrospun Nanofibers for Drug Delivery Applications

Electrospinning is a fast emerging technique for producing ultrafine fibers by utilizing electrostatic repulsive forces. The technique has gathered much attention due to the emergence of nanotechnology that sparked worldwide research interest in nanomaterials for their preparation and application in biomedicine and drug delivery. Electrospinning is a simple, adaptable, cost‐effective, and versatile technique for producing nanofibers. For effective and efficient use of the technique,several processing parameters need to be optimized for fabricating polymeric nanofibers. The nanofiber morphology, size, porosity, surface area, and topography can be refined by varying these parameters. Such flexibility and diversity in nanofiber fabrication by electrospinning has broadened the horizons for widespread application of nanofibers in the areas of drug and gene delivery, wound dressing, and tissue engineering. Drug‐loaded electrospun nanofibers have been used in implants, transdermal systems, wound dressings, and as devices for aiding the prevention of postsurgical abdominal adhesions and infection. They show great promise for use in drug delivery provided that one can confidently control the processing variables during fabrication. This paper provides a concise incursion into the application of electrospun nanofibers in drug delivery and cites pertinent processing parameters that may influence the performance of the nanofibers when applied to drug delivery.

<i>Fabrications and Applications of Electrospun Nanofibers from Natural Polymeric Materials</i>

<i>Fabrications and Applications of Electrospun Nanofibers from Natural Polymeric Materials</i>

Applications of electrospun nanofibers in the biomedical field

Electrospinning is a technology that has been widely used as a novel method for the generation of nano scale fibres. Electrospun fibres are used in a wide range of applications from electronics to textile. The viability and popularity of this technology can be evidenced by its ease of use and the simplicity of the science behind building the electrospinning machine. The generated fibres have a high surface area- to- volume ratio, the fibrous mats are highly porous and display excellent mechanical properties when compared to other materials of the same scale. In the past decade, this technology has taken off with the use of biocompatible and biodegradable polymers. This review is a summary of the different ways in which electrospinning can be used in the biomedical field. This article analyzes the recent advances of this technology in tissue engineering, drug delivery and in enzyme immobilisation, which once again showcases the versatility of the electrospinning procedure.

Improved conversion efficiency in dye-sensitized solar cells based on electrospun Al-doped ZnO nanofiber electrodes prepared by seed layer treatment

The application of electrospun nanofibers in electronic devices is limited due to their poor adhesion to conductive substrates. To improve this, a seed layer (SD) is introduced on the FTO substrate before the deposition of the electrospun composite nanofibers. This facilitates the release of interfacial tensile stress during calcination and enhances the interfacial adhesion of the AZO nanofiber films with the FTO substrate. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) based on these AZO nanofiber photoelectrodes have been fabricated and investigated. An energy conversion efficiency ( η) of 0.54–0.55% has been obtained under irradiation of AM 1.5 simulated sunlight (100 mW/cm 2), indicating a massive improvement of η in the AZO nanofiber film DSSCs after SD-treatment of the FTO substrate as compared to those with no treatment. The SD-treatment has been demonstrated to be a simple and facile method to solve the problem of poor adhesion between electrospun nanofibers and the conductive substrate.