http://nathan.instras.com/ResearchProposalDB/doc-109.pdf

A review on polymer nanofibers by electrospinning and their applications in nanocomposites

Electrospinning: a fascinating fiber fabrication technique.

http://orion.bme.columbia.edu/lulab/pdf/Altman_Silk-Based-Biomaterials_2003.pdf

Silk-based biomaterials

Biomaterials have played an enormous role in the success of medical devices and drug delivery systems. We discuss here new challenges and directions in biomaterials research. These include synthetic replacements for biological tissues, designing materials for specific medical applications, and materials for new applications such as diagnostics and array technologies.

Designing materials for biology and medicine

Interest in electrospinning has recently escalated due to the ability to produce materials with nanoscale properties. Electrospun fibers have been investigated as promising tissue engineering scaffolds since they mimic the nanoscale properties of native extracellular matrix. In this review, we examine electrospinning by providing a brief description of the theory behind the process, examining the effect of changing the process parameters on fiber morphology, and discussing the potential applications and impacts of electrospinning on the field of tissue engineering.

Electrospinning of polymeric nanofibers for tissue engineering applications: a review.

Elastin-mimetic peptide polymers have been synthesized, and the morphological properties of fabricated small diameter fibers and nonwoven fabrics have been characterized. An 81 kDa recombinant protein based upon the repeating elastomeric peptide sequence of elastin (Val-Pro-Gly-Val-Gly)4(Val-Pro-Gly-Lys-Gly) was obtained through bacterial expression of an oligomerized gene coding for tandem repeats of the monomer. The protein was processed into fibers by an electrospinning technique and morphology defined by SEM and TEM. The choice of processing parameters influenced both fiber diameter and morphology with diameters varying between 200 and 3000 nm and three morphological patterns noted:  beaded fibers, thin filaments, and broad ribbonlike structures. Detailed image analysis of nonwoven textile fabrics produced from elastin-mimetic fibers revealed that the distribution of single fiber orientation was isotropic with an associated unimodal distribution of protein fiber diameter. In a dry state, the ultimate ...

and Vincent P. Conticello

Papers

Generation of Synthetic Elastin-Mimetic Small Diameter Fibers and Fiber Networks