Composites

Ultra-fine electrospun fibers show clear potential for the manufacture of long fiber composite materials.

Application is limited by difficulties in making sufficient quantities of fiber to make substantial large scale articles in a reasonable time scale. For this reason medical applications requiring relatively small amounts of fiber are a popular area of application for electrospun fiber reinforced materials.

Electrospinning is being investigated as a source of cost-effective, easy to manufacture wound dressings, medical implants, and scaffolds for the production of artificial human tissues. These scaffolds fulfill a similar purpose as the extracellular matrix in natural tissue. Biodegradable polymers, such as polycaprolactone, are typically used for this purpose. These fibers may then be coated with collagen to promote cell attachment, although collagen has successfully been spun directly into membranes.

http://s9.picofile.com/file/8275517750/%D8%A7%DA%A9%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%88_%D8%B1%DB%8C%D8%B3%DB%8C_%D9%BE%DB%8C_%D9%88%DB%8C_%D8%A7%DB%8C.jpg

SEM image of the fracture surface of a polyvinyl alcohol long fiber – epoxy matrix composite – the section thickness is about 12 micrometers