Polymer Electrospun Nanofibers Research Articles

Recent advances in developing electrochemical (bio)sensing assays by applying natural polymer-based electrospun nanofibers: A comprehensive review

Electrospinning is a very powerful technique to produce highly complex nanofibers with tunable properties. This technique provides efficiency, versatility, and low cost to create nanofiber assemblies from a rich variety of natural and synthetic polymers combined with different types of nanoparticles. Electrospun nanofiber materials have demonstrated significant potential in various applications, such as sensors and biosensors, tissue engineering, drug delivery, energy conversion, and storage. This is mainly due to their unique characteristics including mechanical strength, large specific surface area, diverse polymer composition, and simple manufacturing process. Nanofiber-based biosensors offer several advantages over conventional biosensors, including enhanced responsiveness, wider linear range, higher sensitivity, lower limit of detection (LOD), and cost-effectiveness. Recently, there has been considerable interest in developing nanobiocomposites by integrating bioreceptors and conductive nanomaterials into carbon, metal oxide, or polymer electrospun nanofibers. In this comprehensive review, we explore advanced biosensors based on electrospinning technology, including biosensors modified with electrospun carbon, metal/metal oxide, as well as polymer-based and polymer-modified biosensors. After a general and short description of the electrospinning process and electrospinning conditions affecting the production of different nanofibers, the application of electrospun nanofibers for the design of electrochemical (bio)sensors is discussed.

A conductometric enzymatic methanol sensor based on polystyrene - PAMAM dendritic polymer electrospun nanofibers

Methanol (MeOH) is a solvent and cleaning agent used in industry, but it is poisonous when ingested. The recommended release threshold for MeOH vapor is 200 ppm. We present a novel sensitive micro-conductometric MeOH biosensor created by grafting alcohol oxidase (AOX) onto electrospun polystyrene-poly(amidoamine) dendritic polymer blend nanofibers (PS-PAMAM-ESNFs) on interdigitated electrodes (IDEs). The analytical performance of the MeOH microsensor was evaluated using gaseous MeOH, ethanol, and acetone samples collected from the headspace above aqueous solution with known concentration. The sensor's response time (tRes) fluctuates from 13 s to 35 s from lower to higher concentrations. The conductometric sensor has a sensitivity of 150.53 μS.cm-1 (v/v) for MeOH and a detection limit of 100 ppm in the gas phase. The MeOH sensor is 7.3 times less sensitive to ethanol and 136.8 times less sensitive to acetone. The sensor was verified for detecting MeOH in commercial rubbing alcohol samples.

Nanohydroxyapatite Electrodeposition onto Electrospun Nanofibers: Technique Overview and Tissue Engineering Applications.

Nanocomposite scaffolds based on the combination of polymeric nanofibers with nanohydroxyapatite are a promising approach within tissue engineering. With this strategy, it is possible to synthesize nanobiomaterials that combine the well-known benefits and advantages of polymer-based nanofibers with the osteointegrative, osteoinductive, and osteoconductive properties of nanohydroxyapatite, generating scaffolds with great potential for applications in regenerative medicine, especially as support for bone growth and regeneration. However, as efficiently incorporating nanohydroxyapatite into polymeric nanofibers is still a challenge, new methodologies have emerged for this purpose, such as electrodeposition, a fast, low-cost, adjustable, and reproducible technique capable of depositing coatings of nanohydroxyapatite on the outside of fibers, to improve scaffold bioactivity and cell–biomaterial interactions. In this short review paper, we provide an overview of the electrodeposition method, as well as a detailed discussion about the process of electrodepositing nanohydroxyapatite on the surface of polymer electrospun nanofibers. In addition, we present the main findings of the recent applications of polymeric micro/nanofibrous scaffolds coated with electrodeposited nanohydroxyapatite in tissue engineering. In conclusion, comments are provided about the future direction of nanohydroxyapatite electrodeposition onto polymeric nanofibers.

Characterization and antibacterial activity of rice grain-shaped ZnS nanoparticles immobilized inside the polymer electrospun nanofibers

Present work introduces the fabrication of antibacterial nanofibers composite of poly(vinyl acetate) doped with in situ-synthesized rice grain-shaped ZnS nanoparticles using electrospinning technique. FE-SEM and TEM analyses revealed that the ZnS nanoparticles were uniformly incorporated inside the polymer nanofibers. The antibacterial activity of as-fabricated nanofibers composite was investigated under indoor light activation towards Gram-negative (E. coli) and Gram-positive (S. aureus) bacteria. Such strategy for immobilizing ceramic nanoparticles inside polymer nanofibers might be helpful to overcome the photocorrosion and recovery problems of ZnS-based materials.

Electrospun Functional Materials toward Food Packaging Applications: A Review.

Electrospinning is an effective and versatile method to prepare continuous polymer nanofibers and nonwovens that exhibit excellent properties such as high molecular orientation, high porosity and large specific surface area. Benefitting from these outstanding and intriguing features, electrospun nanofibers have been employed as a promising candidate for the fabrication of food packaging materials. Actually, the electrospun nanofibers used in food packaging must possess biocompatibility and low toxicity. In addition, in order to maintain the quality of food and extend its shelf life, food packaging materials also need to have certain functionality. Herein, in this timely review, functional materials produced from electrospinning toward food packaging are highlighted. At first, various strategies for the preparation of polymer electrospun fiber are introduced, then the characteristics of different packaging films and their successful applications in food packaging are summarized, including degradable materials, superhydrophobic materials, edible materials, antibacterial materials and high barrier materials. Finally, the future perspective and key challenges of polymer electrospun nanofibers for food packaging are also discussed. Hopefully, this review would provide a fundamental insight into the development of electrospun functional materials with high performance for food packaging.

Resorbable polymer electrospun nanofibers: History, shapes and application for tissue engineering

Resorbable polymer electrospun nanofiber-based materials/devices have high surface-to-volume ratio and often have a porous structure with excellent pore interconnectivity, which are suitable for growth and development of different types of cells. Due to the huge advantages of both resorbable polymers and electrospun nanofibers, resorbable polymer electrospun nanofibers (RPENs) have been widely applied in the field of tissue engineering. In this paper, we will mainly introduce RPENs for tissue engineering. Firstly, the electrospinning technique and electrospun nanofiber architectures are briefly introduced. Secondly, the application of RPENs in the field of tissue engineering is mainly reviewed. Finally, the advantages and disadvantages of RPENs for tissue engineering are discussed. This review will provide a comprehensive guide to apply resorbable polymer electrospun nanofibers for tissue engineering.

Recent Advances in Electrospun Nanofiber Interfaces for Biosensing Devices.

Electrospinning has emerged as a very powerful method combining efficiency, versatility and low cost to elaborate scalable ordered and complex nanofibrous assemblies from a rich variety of polymers. Electrospun nanofibers have demonstrated high potential for a wide spectrum of applications, including drug delivery, tissue engineering, energy conversion and storage, or physical and chemical sensors. The number of works related to biosensing devices integrating electrospun nanofibers has also increased substantially over the last decade. This review provides an overview of the current research activities and new trends in the field. Retaining the bioreceptor functionality is one of the main challenges associated with the production of nanofiber-based biosensing interfaces. The bioreceptors can be immobilized using various strategies, depending on the physical and chemical characteristics of both bioreceptors and nanofiber scaffolds, and on their interfacial interactions. The production of nanobiocomposites constituted by carbon, metal oxide or polymer electrospun nanofibers integrating bioreceptors and conductive nanomaterials (e.g., carbon nanotubes, metal nanoparticles) has been one of the major trends in the last few years. The use of electrospun nanofibers in ELISA-type bioassays, lab-on-a-chip and paper-based point-of-care devices is also highly promising. After a short and general description of electrospinning process, the different strategies to produce electrospun nanofiber biosensing interfaces are discussed.

Preparation and characterization of Ag nanoparticle-embedded polymer electrospun nanofibers

Poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and poly (vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) nanofibers embedding Ag nanoparticles (5–18 nm) have been prepared successfully by electrospinning at room temperature. Scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), Fourier transform IR spectra (FTIR), and Raman scattering were used to characterize the structure and properties of Ag nanoparticle-embedded PVA and PVP nanofibers before and after heat treatment at different temperature. The antibacterial activity of Ag nanoparticle-embedded PVP nanofibers after heat treatment was also tested, which indicated that the biological activity of yeast cells was effectively inhibited by these Ag nanoparticle-embedded PVP nanofibers.

Highly polarized luminescence from aligned conjugated polymer electrospun nanofibers

In this contribution we show highly polarized photoluminescence (PL) from aligned polyethyleneoxide: polyphenylenevinylene derivative composite nanofibers. We demonstrate PL polarization ratios (parallel to perpendicular) greater than 13. This ratio is further increased (up to ∼25) by stretching the nanofibers. Stretching also results in an increase in conjugation length, fiber density, and PL lifetime. We argue that the effect of stretching is equivalent to applying a permanent and strong pressure. Our results open up the possibility for new optoelectronic devices and fundamental science studies based on polymer nanofibers.