Apparatus for preparing electrospun nanofibers: designing an electrospinning process for nanofiber fabrication

Nanofibers are widely used in a range of material applications, such as filter media, biosensors, military protective coatings, three-dimensional tissue scaffolds, composites, drug delivery, wound dressings and electronic devices. To fabricate nanofibers with desired physical and chemical functions, a variety of electrospinning processes have been introduced using specially designed collectors, microelectromechanical system (MEMS) nozzle tips and auxiliary electrodes to stabilize the spin jets. However, the development of new electrospinning processes continues in the search for 'tailor-made' nanofibers, in which parameters such as the fiber orientation and three-dimensional structure are ultimately controllable. This paper discusses recently suggested electrospinning methods that are designed to impart specific functionality. It also details the correlations between applied processing parameters and the obtained physical properties of electrospun fibers. Finally, future design directions are suggested for developing an electrospinning apparatus capable of producing optimally structured nanofibers. (c) 2007 Society of Chemical Industry.