57. Introduction to Electrospun Fibers from Biopolymers

Electrospinning is a process where polymeric solutions are extruded through a charged electrical field consisting of + vely and – vely charged source/collector. Fibers in the nano- to micrometer scale are produced by controlling the distance between needle and collector and voltage and other parameters during electrospinning. Electrospun fibers are preferred for a variety of applications due to their high surface area, ability to develop fibrous matrices with desired porosity and pore size, and comparatively easy biodegradability. Due to these advantages, electrospun fibers have been considered suitable as tissue engineering scaffolds and other medical applications, reinforcement for composites, filters for biotechnological applications, protective clothing and smart textiles, and in energy and electronic applications such as batteries/cell and capacitors, sensors, and catalysts [14Bra]. Due to their wide acceptability and unique properties, attempts have been made to develop electrospun fibers from almost every possible raw material. Reports are available on producing electrospun fibers from polysaccharides such as cellulose and chitosan, proteins such as silk fibroin and gelatin, synthetic polymers such as polypropylene and poly(lactic acid), and even from metals such as TiO₂ [08For]. This part provides an overview of the biopolymers including polysaccharides, proteins, and synthetic polymers that have been used to develop electrospun fibers. Since there is a massive amount of literature in developing electrospun fibers, especially from synthetic polymers, our focus in this part is to only cover electrospun fibers produced from polysaccharides and proteins and synthetic biopolymers such as poly(lactic acid) and poly(ethylene glycol) that are derived from renewable resources.