Electrospinning and electrospraying in biomedical engineering: Retrospect and prospects
Kasoju N., Ye H., Cui Z., Ramakrishna S.
Electrospinning, a micro/nanoscale fiber-forming process, and electrospraying, a micro/nanoscale particle-forming process, have gained tremendous attention in the recent years in the biomedical field. The resultant micro/nanomaterials are being used as matrices in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, carriers in drug delivery, sensory systems in biosensing, contrasting agents in bioimaging, and smart and intelligent human-machine interface systems. The instrumentation has evolved from bench side to commercial as well as point-of-care devices. Further, electrospun/electrospray medical devices have started to get through the clinical trials and regulatory clearances in recent times. The field has also seen innovative cross-disciplinary developments in combination with three-dimensional printing, microfluidics, etc. This chapter offers a retrospective view on the technological advances in electrospinning and electrospraying, followed by applications of electrospinning/spraying materials in biomedical field, highlight developments in the electrospinning/spraying units, including lab-scale, large-scale and point-of-care devices, throws light on the transformation of e-spun/e-spray materials into human-machine interface systems, and finally highlights the future prospects in the field toward successful translation from bench to bedside.