Nanofibers for Medical Textiles

Abstract

Polymer-based nanofibers as an important group of materials have attracted considerable attention of research and industrial areas. Polymer nanofibers with diameters in submicrometer (<1 μm) possess unique properties including large specific surface area per unit mass, which facilitated adding functionalities to surface for specific applications. Typically, polymer nanofibers have been synthesized by electrospinning, spinneret-based tunable engineered parameters (STEP) or drawing techniques, template synthesis, phase separation/inversion, self-assembly, solution blowing (air jet spinning), forcespinning (centrifugal spinning), and interfacial polymerization of nanofibers. The most common method is electrospinning due to its feasibility, cost-effectiveness, ability to fabricate continuous fibers from various polymers, and mass production. However, pros and cons of synthesis methods will also be presented. Furthermore, characterization methods of polymer nanofibers and effective factors on nanofibers will be provided. Polymer nanofibers are fabricated from both natural and synthetic polymers. Polymer blends are also used to improve biodegradability in medical applications and conductivity in sensors and neural tissue engineering. This chapter will also present recent developments of polymer nanofiber applications as scaffolds for tissue engineering, wound dressing, drug delivery, filters, protective clothing, sensors, and reinforcement in composite materials.