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Fibers
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Electrospun Polymer Nanofibers for Food and Health Applications
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Electrospun Polymer Nanofibers for Food and Health Applications

A special issue of Fibers (ISSN 2079-6439).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2019) | Viewed by 33186

Printed Edition Available!
A printed edition of this Special Issue is available here.

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Marija Gizdavic-Nikolaidis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Chemical Sciences, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
Interests: nanotechnology; conducting polymers; biopolymers; electrospinning; polymer composites; hybrid polymers; microwave assisted technology; bioactives

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The electrospinning method has the unique ability to produce structured polymeric fibers on the micro or nano scale and to generate novel materials for food and healthcare purposes. The potential of electrospun nanofibers for human healthcare applications is promising, for example, in tissue/organ repair and regeneration, as vectors to deliver drugs and therapeutics, as biocompatible and biodegradable medical implant devices, in medical diagnostics and instrumentation, as protective fabrics against environmental and infectious agents in hospitals and general surroundings, and in cosmetic and dental applications. Furthermore, considerable effort has been directed toward developing scaffolds using biodegradable and biocompatible synthetic, natural polymers or renewable materials that enhance in vitro cell growth, while killing pathogenic bacteria cells. The electrospun fibrous mats generally exhibit a large surface area to volume ratio due to the high porosity and nano to sub-micron structure of the fibres. The advent of electrospinning has opened up new prospects for the development of architectured materials with enhanced properties for applications such as food packaging, food encapsulation, food storage or the food processing of agricultural products. This Special Issue details current research in this field, focusing on the development of electrospun polymer nanofibers for food and health applications.

Dr. Marija Gizdavic-Nikolaidis
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Fibers is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • electrospinning
  • polymer blend
  • biomaterials
  • microfibres/nanofibres
  • scaffolds
  • electrospun fibres
  • eletrospun fibre mats
  • electrospun green fibres
  • bioactive electrospun fibres
  • electrospun edible fibres
  • natural polymer-based electrospun fibres
  • tissue engineering
  • food packaging
  • wound dressing
  • encapsulation
  • agriculture
  • food industry
  • drug release

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

10 pages, 4371 KiB  
Communication
Increased Mechanical Properties of Carbon Nanofiber Mats for Possible Medical Applications
by Marah Trabelsi, Al Mamun, Michaela Klöcker, Lilia Sabantina, Christina Großerhode, Tomasz Blachowicz and Andrea Ehrmann
Fibers 2019, 7(11), 98; https://doi.org/10.3390/fib7110098 - 17 Nov 2019
Cited by 32 | Viewed by 6166
Abstract
Carbon fibers belong to the materials of high interest in medical application due to their good mechanical properties and because they are chemically inert at room temperature. Carbon nanofiber mats, which can be produced by electrospinning diverse precursor polymers, followed by thermal stabilization [...] Read more.
Carbon fibers belong to the materials of high interest in medical application due to their good mechanical properties and because they are chemically inert at room temperature. Carbon nanofiber mats, which can be produced by electrospinning diverse precursor polymers, followed by thermal stabilization and carbonization, are under investigation as possible substrates for cell growth, especially for possible 3D cell growth applications in tissue engineering. However, such carbon nanofiber mats may be too brittle to serve as a reliable substrate. Here we report on a simple method of creating highly robust carbon nanofiber mats by using electrospun polyacrylonitrile/ZnO nanofiber mats as substrates. We show that the ZnO-blended polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofiber mats have significantly increased fiber diameters, resulting in enhanced mechanical properties and thus supporting tissue engineering applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electrospun Polymer Nanofibers for Food and Health Applications)
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12 pages, 4065 KiB  
Article
Enhanced Stability and Bioactivity of Curcuma comosa Roxb. Extract in Electrospun Gelatin Nanofibers
by Chi-Ming Chiu, Jukkrit Nootem, Thanapich Santiwat, Choladda Srisuwannaket, Kornkanya Pratumyot, Wei-Chao Lin, Withawat Mingvanish and Nakorn Niamnont
Fibers 2019, 7(9), 76; https://doi.org/10.3390/fib7090076 - 27 Aug 2019
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 5403
Abstract
Electrospun fiber can be used as a carrier for releasing active ingredients at the target site to achieve the effects of drug treatment. The objectives of this research work were to study suitable conditions for producing electrospun gelatin fiber loaded with crude Curcuma [...] Read more.
Electrospun fiber can be used as a carrier for releasing active ingredients at the target site to achieve the effects of drug treatment. The objectives of this research work were to study suitable conditions for producing electrospun gelatin fiber loaded with crude Curcuma comosa Roxb. extract (CE) and to study antioxidant, anti-tyrosinase and anti-bacterial activities and its freeze–thaw stability as well. To achieve optimal conditions for producing electrospun gelatin fiber, the concentration of gelatin was adjusted to 30% w/v in a co-solvent system of acetic acid/water (9:1 v/v) with a feed rate of 3 mL/h and an applied voltage of 15 kV. The lowest percent loading of 5% (w/v) CE in gelatin nanofiber exhibited the highest DPPH radical scavenging activity of 94% and the highest inhibition of tyrosinase enzyme of 35%. Moreover, the inhibition zones for antibacterial activities against S. aureus and S. epidermidis were 7.77 ± 0.21 and 7.73 ± 0.12 mm, respectively. The freeze–thaw stability of CE in electrospun gelatin nanofiber was significantly different (p < 0.05) after the 4th cycle as compared to CE. Electrospun gelatin nanofiber containing CE also showed the capacity of the release of bioactive ingredients possessing anti-oxidant properties and, therefore, it could potentially be used for face masks. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electrospun Polymer Nanofibers for Food and Health Applications)
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16 pages, 19601 KiB  
Article
Hydrogel Nanofibers from Carboxymethyl Sago Pulp and Its Controlled Release Studies as a Methylene Blue Drug Carrier
by Nafeesa Mohd Kanafi, Norizah Abdul Rahman, Nurul Husna Rosdi, Hasliza Bahruji and Hasmerya Maarof
Fibers 2019, 7(6), 56; https://doi.org/10.3390/fib7060056 - 15 Jun 2019
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 6306
Abstract
The potential use of carboxymethyl sago pulp (CMSP) extracted from sago waste for producing hydrogel nanofibers was investigated as a methylene blue drug carrier. Sago pulp was chemically modified via carboxymethylation reaction to form carboxymethyl sago pulp (CMSP) and subsequently used to produce [...] Read more.
The potential use of carboxymethyl sago pulp (CMSP) extracted from sago waste for producing hydrogel nanofibers was investigated as a methylene blue drug carrier. Sago pulp was chemically modified via carboxymethylation reaction to form carboxymethyl sago pulp (CMSP) and subsequently used to produce nanofibers using the electrospinning method with the addition of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO). The CMSP nanofibers were further treated with citric acid to form cross-linked hydrogel. Studies on the percentage of swelling following the variation of citric acid concentrations and curing temperature showed that 89.20 ± 0.42% of methylene blue (MB) was loaded onto CMSP hydrogel nanofibers with the percentage of swelling 4366 ± 975%. Meanwhile, methylene blue controlled release studies revealed that the diffusion of methylene blue was influenced by the pH of buffer solution with 19.44% of MB released at pH 7.34 within 48 h indicating the potential of CMSP hydrogel nanofibers to be used as a drug carrier for MB. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electrospun Polymer Nanofibers for Food and Health Applications)
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9 pages, 3158 KiB  
Article
Fabrication of Water Absorbing Nanofiber Meshes toward an Efficient Removal of Excess Water from Kidney Failure Patients
by Mirei Tsuge, Kanoko Takahashi, Rio Kurimoto, Ailifeire Fulati, Koichiro Uto, Akihiko Kikuchi and Mitsuhiro Ebara
Fibers 2019, 7(5), 39; https://doi.org/10.3390/fib7050039 - 01 May 2019
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 8417
Abstract
Excellent water-absorbing nanofiber meshes were developed as a potential material for removing excess fluids from the blood of chronic renal failure patients toward a wearable blood purification system without requiring specialized equipment. The nanofiber meshes were successfully fabricated from poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) under [...] Read more.
Excellent water-absorbing nanofiber meshes were developed as a potential material for removing excess fluids from the blood of chronic renal failure patients toward a wearable blood purification system without requiring specialized equipment. The nanofiber meshes were successfully fabricated from poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) under various applied voltages by appropriately setting the electrospinning conditions. The electrospun PAA nanofibers were thermally crosslinked via heat treatment and then neutralized from their carboxylic acid form (PAA) to a sodium carboxylate form poly(sodium acrylate) (PSA). The PSA nanofiber meshes exhibited a specific surface area 393 times that of the PSA film. The PSA fiber meshes showed a much faster and higher swelling than its corresponding film, owing to the higher capillary forces from the fibers in addition to the water absorption of the PSA gel itself. The proposed PSA fibers have the potential to be utilized in a new approach to remove excess water from the bloodstream without requiring specialized equipment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electrospun Polymer Nanofibers for Food and Health Applications)
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Graphical abstract

14 pages, 4140 KiB  
Article
Shape-Memory Nanofiber Meshes with Programmable Cell Orientation
by Eri Niiyama, Kanta Tanabe, Koichiro Uto, Akihiko Kikuchi and Mitsuhiro Ebara
Fibers 2019, 7(3), 20; https://doi.org/10.3390/fib7030020 - 01 Mar 2019
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 6302
Abstract
In this work we report the rational design of temperature-responsive nanofiber meshes with shape-memory properties. Meshes were fabricated by electrospinning poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL)-based polyurethane with varying ratios of soft (PCL diol) and hard [hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI)/1,4-butanediol (BD)] segments. By altering the PCL diol:HDI:BD molar [...] Read more.
In this work we report the rational design of temperature-responsive nanofiber meshes with shape-memory properties. Meshes were fabricated by electrospinning poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL)-based polyurethane with varying ratios of soft (PCL diol) and hard [hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI)/1,4-butanediol (BD)] segments. By altering the PCL diol:HDI:BD molar ratio both shape-memory properties and mechanical properties could be readily turned and modulated. Though mechanical properties improved by increasing the hard to soft segment ratio, optimal shape-memory properties were obtained using a PCL/HDI/BD molar ratio of 1:4:3. Microscopically, the original nanofibrous structure could be deformed into and maintained in a temporary shape and later recover its original structure upon reheating. Even when deformed by 400%, a recovery rate of >89% was observed. Implementation of these shape memory nanofiber meshes as cell culture platforms revealed the unique ability to alter human mesenchymal stem cell alignment and orientation. Due to their biocompatible nature, temperature-responsivity, and ability to control cell alignment, we believe that these meshes may demonstrate great promise as biomedical applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electrospun Polymer Nanofibers for Food and Health Applications)
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