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.

Electrospinning is a highly versatile method to process solutions or melts, mainly of polymers, into continuous fibers with diameters ranging from a few micrometers to a few nanometers. This technique is applicable to virtually every soluble or fusible polymer. The polymers can be chemically modified and can also be tailored with additives ranging from simple carbon-black particles to complex species such as enzymes, viruses, and bacteria. Electrospinning appears to be straightforward, but is a rather intricate process that depends on a multitude of molecular, process, and technical parameters. The method provides access to entirely new materials, which may have complex chemical structures. Electrospinning is not only a focus of intense academic investigation; the technique is already being applied in many technological areas.

Electrospinning: A Fascinating Method for the Preparation of Ultrathin Fibers

https://cyberleninka.org/article/n/238598.pdf

Use of electrospinning technique for biomedical applications

Nanotechnology is the study and development of materials at nano levels. It is one of the rapidly growing scientific disciplines due to its enormous potential in creating novel materials that have advanced applications. This technology has tremendously impacted many different science and engineering disciplines, such as electronics, materials science, and polymer engineering. Nanofibers, due to their high surface area and porosity, find applications as filter medium, adsorption layers in protective clothing, etc. Electrospinning has been found to be a viable technique to produce nanofibers. An in-depth review of research activities on the development of nanofibers, fundamental understanding of the electrospinning process, and properties of nanostructured fibrous materials and their applications is provided in this article. A detailed account on the type of fibers that have been electrospun and their characteristics is also elaborated. It is hoped that the overview article will serve as a good reference tool for nanoscience researchers in fibers, textiles, and polymer fields. Furthermore, this article will help with the planning of future research activities and better understanding of nanofiber characteristics and their applications.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/app.21481

Electrospinning of nanofibers

Improvement of catalytic efficiency of immobilized enzymes via materials engineering was demonstrated through the preparation of bioactive nanofibers Bioactive polystyrene (PS) nanofibers with a typical diameter of 120 nm were prepared and examined for catalytic efficiency for biotransformations The nanofibers were produced by electrospinning functionalized PS, followed by the chemical attachment of a model enzyme, alpha-chymotrypsin The observed enzyme loading as determined by active site titration was up to 14% (wt/wt), corresponding to over 274% monolayer coverage of the external surface of nanofibers The apparent hydrolytic activity of the nanofibrous enzyme in aqueous solutions was over 65% of that of the native enzyme, indicating a high catalytic efficiency as compared to other forms of immobilized enzymes Furthermore, nanofibrous alpha-chymotrypsin exhibited a much-improved nonaqueous activity that was over 3 orders of magnitude higher than that of its native counterpart suspended in organic solvents including hexane and isooctane It appeared that the covalent binding also improved the enzyme's stability against structural denaturation, such that the half-life of the nanofibrous enzyme in methanol was 18-fold longer than that of the native enzyme

Bradley Vugrinovich

Papers

Enzyme-Carrying Polymeric Nanofibers Prepared via Electrospinning for Use as Unique Biocatalysts