Electrospinning and electrospray for biomedical applications

Abstract

Over the past 20 years, electrospinning and electrospray, which can produce nanofibers and nanoparticles, respectively, have attracted much attention in the biomedical field. Electrospun nanofibrous scaffolds resemble the nanofibrous extracellular matrix of human body tissues and facilitate tissue regeneration. Electrosprayed particles provide suitable delivery vehicles for the controlled release of drugs, growth factors, genes, etc. in human bodies. Advanced techniques based on conventional electrospinning or electrospray can be used to develop new medical devices. Integrating electrospinning and electrospray provides new means for fabricating novel multifunctional medical devices. This chapter covers fundamentals of electrospinning and electrospray and also their applications in the biomedical field. Examples given show the simplicity, versatility, and adaptability of electrospinning and electrospray for constructing various medical devices. However, despite the success of electrospinning and electrospray in the biomedical field, there are still many challenges that need to be addressed for realizing their full potential for biomedical application.