Latest Nanofiber Stories
In his office, MIT Professor of Chemical Engineering Gregory Rutledge keeps a small piece of fabric that at first glance resembles a Kleenex. This tissue-like material, softer than silk, is composed of fibers that are a thousand times thinner than a human hair and holds promise for a wide range of applications including protective clothing, drug delivery and tissue engineering.Such materials are produced by electrospinning, a technique that has taken off in the past 10 years, though the...
The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution has concluded that urgent regulatory action is needed on nano-scale materials widely used in industry.The commission said the materials have so far shown no evidence of harm to people or the environment, yet there was a "major gap" in research about the risks posed by the materials, which are found in some 600 products globally.The commission chair also said he would not recommend clothes with nanosilver."We are concerned about...
New U.S. research suggests environmental gains derived from the use of nanomaterials might be partly offset by the processes used to manufacture them. Various researchers reporting in a special issue of the Journal of Industrial Ecology highlight the need for improved efficiency in the manufacturing of nanoscale materials to reduce energy use, emissions, solid waste and the use of toxic materials. "Research in this issue reveals the potential of environmental impacts from nanomanufacturing...
By Zhang, Y Z Lim, C T The last decade has seen significant progress in the production of nanoflbers by electrospinning. One of the major drivers to this progress is the potential use ofnanofibrous structures as scaffolds for engineering tissues in regenerative medicine. Electrospun fibers are capable of emulating the nanofibrous architecture of the native extracellular matrix. They can potentially provide in-vivo-like nanomechanical and physicochemical signaling cues to the cells to...
The continuous fabrication of complex, three-dimensional nanoscale structures and the ability to grow individual nanowires of unlimited length are now possible with a process developed by researchers at the University of Illinois.Based on the rapid evaporation of solvent from simple "inks," the process has been used to fabricate freestanding nanofibers, stacked arrays of nanofibers and continuously wound spools of nanowires. Potential applications include electronic interconnects,...
By Lee, Seungsin Obendorf, S Kay Abstract To examine the potential of electrospun nanofibrous webs as barriers to liquid penetration in protective clothing systems for agricultural workers, layered fabric systems with electrospun polyurethane fiber web layered on spunbonded nonwoven were developed. Barrier performance was evaluated for the layered fabric systems with different levels of electrospun web area density, using three pesticide mixtures that represent a range of surface tension and...
