Electrospinning of Biopolymer Nanofibers

Dear Colleagues,

Electrospinning is a versatile technique to produce nanofibers from diverse polymers. Especially biopolymers are often dissolvable in water and can thus be electrospun in an eco-friendly way. These materials, however, need a crosslinking after-treatment to receive the desired amount of water-resistance. On the other hand, water-resistant polymers can be blended with water-soluble biopolymers, in this way modifying the nanofiber morphology or adding the intrinsic functionalities of the latter, such as antibacterial or fungicide properties. Other biopolymers are intrinsically water-stable and thus do not need crosslinking or blending for most applications.

This Special Issue focusses on electrospinning of biopolymers, either solely or blended with other biopolymers or man-made polymers. It covers the full range from basic research on electrospinnability with different techniques (needle, wire, cylinder etc.) to “green” crosslinking routes to possible applications and methods of upscaling nanofiber production from laboratory to industry scale.

Prof. Dr. Andrea Ehrmann
Guest Editor