Electrospun Fibers: Versatile Approaches for Controlled Release Applications

Abstract

Electrospinning has been one of the most attractive methods of fiber fabrication in the last century. A lot of studies have been conducted, especially in tissue engineering and drug delivery using electrospun fibers. Loading many different drugs and bioactive agents on or within these fibers potentiates the efficacy of such systems; however, there are still no commercial products with this technology available in the market. Various methods have been developed to improve the mechanical and physicochemical behavior of structures toward more controllable delivery systems in terms of time, place, or quantity of release. In this study, most frequent methods used for the fabrication of controlled release electrospun fibers have been reviewed. Although there are a lot of achievements in the fabrication of controlled release fibers, there are still many challenges to be solved to reach a qualified, reproducible system applicable in the pharmaceutical industry.

Engineered Shellac Beads-on-the-String Fibers Using Triaxial Electrospinning for Improved Colon-Targeted Drug Delivery

“…Thus, it provides an interesting idea for the development and application of nanomaterials. Based on the protocols reported here, the capability of multi-fluid electrospinning in tailoring the shape and inner structure of fibers [ 85 , 86 , 87 , 88 ] can be further combined with new therapeutical strategies and new active/inert components in the literature [ 89 , 90 , 91 , 92 , 93 , 94 , 95 ] for developing more medicated materials.…”

Additive manufacturing of sustainable biomaterials for biomedical applications

“… Conventional techniques Advantages Disadvantages Ref. Freeze drying (i) Suitable technique to develop interconnected pores (ii) Low temperature (iii) Distinct leaching is not necessary (i) Irregular and small pores (ii) Time consuming process [183] Gas foaming (i) Porous scaffolds (ii) Do not use organic solvents (i) Pore geometry cannot be controlled (ii) Require excessive heat (iii) Non-interconnected pore structures [184] Electrospinning (i) Controlled porosity, fiber diameter and pore size (ii) Micro- to nano-sized diameter scaffolds (iii) Highly porous scaffolds (i) Use organic solvents (ii) Low mechanical strength (iii) Pore size is reduced with fiber thickness [185] , [186] , [187] Thermally induced phase separation (i) Highly porous 3D scaffolds (ii) Excellent mechanical properties (i) Small pores (<200 µm) (ii) Use of organic solvent, which are harmful to cells [188] Solvent casting (i) Expensive equipment is not required (ii) Ease of fabrication (i) Develop simple shape scaffolds only (ii) Use residual solvents [189] Solvent casting /particulate leaching (i) Expensive equipment is not required (ii) Ease of fabrication (i) Protein denaturation (ii) Lack of control on the interconnectivity of pores (iii) Only form simple shape scaffolds (iv) Residual solvent is harmful to cells [190] Powder forming (i) Scaffolds with high porosity (ii) Tailorable pore size (i) Use organic solvents [191] Sol-gel method (i) Develop scaffolds by using different types of ceramics (i) Low mechanical strength of scaffolds [...…”

Electrospun Nanofibers as Chemosensors for Detecting Environmental Pollutants: A Review

“…Nanomaterials, due to their special structure and a series of unique physical and chemical properties, are widely used in chemosensors, e.g., for the fixation of active molecules, signal detection, and transmission amplification; greatly improve the sensitivity; shorten the response time; and achieve high-throughput real-time detection, providing a new research path and huge space for the development of chemosensors [62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69]. NFs have become a hot spot in sensing research due to their unique structure, and the electrospinning process can directly and continuously prepare polymer NFs [70][71][72][73].…”