Electrospun nanofibers: promising nanomaterials for biomedical applications

Abstract

With the rapid development of nanotechnology and nanomaterials science, electrospun nanofibers emerged as a new material with great potential for a variety of applications. Electrospinning is a simple and adaptable process for generation of nanofibers from a viscoelastic fluid using electrostatic repulsion between surface charges. Electrospinning has been used to manufacture nanofibers with low diameters from a wide range of materials. Electrospinning may also be used to construct nanofibers with a variety of secondary structures, including those having a porous, hollow, or core–sheath structure. Due to many attributes including their large specific surface area and high porosity, electrospun nanofibers are suitable for biosensing and environmental monitoring. This book chapter discusses the different methods of nanofiber preparations and the challenges involved, recent research progress in electrospun nanofibers, and the ways to commercialize these nanofiber materials.