Nanoengineered electrospun fibers and their biomedical applications: a review

Abstract

Electrospun fibers have received significant interests for various application areas such as filtration, composites and biomedical products due to their large surface area, good continuity, high porosity and many other unique properties. In bio-related applications, electrospun fibers have been used for in-situ drug delivery, tissue engineering scaffolds and wound dressing. In more recent years, there has been a drive toward novel electrospun fibers with added functionalities. Nanoengineering of electrospun fibers has introduced many of such novel properties. Through this review, researchers are provided with a state of the art overview of nanoenhanced electrospun fibers with added functionalities. Examples of some nanoengineered fibers include; surface functionalization, multi-component fibers, porous nanofibers, the creation of surface nano-topographies, and the incorporation of nanoparticles to create hierarchical fibrous structures for tailoring of physicochemical properties with a special focus on biomedical applications.