Nanofiber

Nanofibers are defined as fibers with diameters less than 100 nanometers. They can be produced by interfacial polymerization and electrospinning. Carbon nanofibers are graphitized fibers produced by catalytic synthesis.

Applications

• In one study, combined neural stem cells with carbon nanofibers triggered neural tissue regeneration in the brains of rats that had suffered a simulated stroke. On their own, neither nanofibers nor stem cells could heal the rats.
• Napkins with nanofibers contain antibodies against numerous biohazards and chemicals that signal by changing color (potentially useful in identifying bacteria in kitchens).
• In wound healing nanofibers assemble at the injury site and stay put, drawing the body's own growth factors to the injury site.
• Donaldson develops nanofiber filter media for new air and liquid filtration applications, such as vacuum cleaners.

Other applications include industrial and high-tech applications for aerospace, capacitors, transistors, battery separators, energy storage, fuel cells and information technology.

See also

• Nanofiber seeding
• Textiles Nanotechnology Laboratory at Cornell University

1. Electrospinning of Nanofibers: Thandavamoorthy Subbiah, G. S. Bhat, R. W. Tock, S. Parameswaran, S. S. Ramkumar, Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Volume 96, Issue 2 (p 557-569) http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/109925432/PDFSTART
2. Self-assembled honeycomb polyurethane nanofibers: S. Thandavamoorthy, N. Gopinath, S. S. Ramkumar Journal of Applied Polymer Science Volume 101, Issue 5 , Pages 3121 – 3124. The Institute of Environmental and Human Health, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas 79409-1163 Funded by: U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command