A comprehensive review summarizing the effect of electrospinning parameters and potential applications of nanofibers in biomedical and biotechnology

Nanotechnology is a budding technology that has been identified as a vital scientific and commercial venture with global economic benefits. With the increasing knowledge of nanomaterial manufacturing techniques, research groups around the globe are focusing more on the preparation of nanomaterials for various applications. Among the various techniques reported in the literature, electrospinning has gathered significant interest because of its ability to fabricate nanostructures with unique properties such as a high surface area and inter/intra fibrous porosity. Electrospinning has been the most widely used technique in the late 20th (1990) and early 21st (2000) centuries (Reneker and Yarin, 2008). Since its first use in the early 20th (1900) (Cooley, 1900) century, significant improvements have been made in the instrument design, material used, and nanomaterials produced. The production of nanomaterials (nanofibers) via electrospinning is affected by many operating parameters. This review paper will provide an overview of the electrospinning (applied electric field, distance between the needle and collector and flow rate, needle diameter), solution (polymer concentration, viscosity, solvent and solution conductivity) and environmental (relativity humidity and temperature) parameters that affect the nanofibers fabrication and the application of nanofibers in tissue engineering, drug delivery systems, wound dressings, antibacterial study, filtration, desalination, protective clothing fabrication, and biosensors. (C) 2015 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University.