Affiliations 

  • 1 Biomaterials Nanotechnology and Tissue Engineering Faculty, School of Advanced Medical Technology, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan 8174673461, Iran
  • 2 Advanced Materials Research Center, Department of Materials Engineering, Najafabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Iran
  • 3 Advanced Membrane Technology Research Center (AMTEC), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Johor Bahru, Johor 81310, Malaysia
  • 4 Centre for Sustainable Nanomaterials, Ibnu Sina Institute for Scientific and Industrial Research, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, UTM Skudai, Johor 81310, Malaysia
  • 5 Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491 Trondheim, Norway
Materials (Basel), 2020 May 06;13(9).
PMID: 32384813 DOI: 10.3390/ma13092153

Abstract

Pharmaceutical nano-fibers have attracted widespread attention from researchers for reasons such as adaptability of the electro-spinning process and ease of production. As a flexible method for fabricating nano-fibers, electro-spinning is extensively used. An electro-spinning unit is composed of a pump or syringe, a high voltage current supplier, a metal plate collector and a spinneret. Optimization of the attained nano-fibers is undertaken through manipulation of the variables of the process and formulation, including concentration, viscosity, molecular mass, and physical phenomenon, as well as the environmental parameters including temperature and humidity. The nano-fibers achieved by electro-spinning can be utilized for drug loading. The mixing of two or more medicines can be performed via electro-spinning. Facilitation or inhibition of the burst release of a drug can be achieved by the use of the electro-spinning approach. This potential is anticipated to facilitate progression in applications of drug release modification and tissue engineering (TE). The present review aims to focus on electro-spinning, optimization parameters, pharmacological applications, biological characteristics, and in vivo analyses of the electro-spun nano-fibers. Furthermore, current developments and upcoming investigation directions are outlined for the advancement of electro-spun nano-fibers for TE. Moreover, the possible applications, complications and future developments of these nano-fibers are summarized in detail.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.