Recent Trends in Electrospinning of Polymer Nanofibers and their Applications as Templates for Metal Oxide Nanofibers Preparation

Scientists have been paying a special attention for the synthesis of one-dimensional (1D) morphologies to attain new phenomena and novel physicochemical characteristics of materials. Furthermore, 1D nanostructures exhibit long axial ratio, which has a great influence on the physical and chemical properties of materials. It is worth mentioning that electrospinning is one of the most common and efficient techniques used for the preparation of 1D polymer composite nanofibers. Using electrospinning, nanofibers were fabricated by electrostatic stretching of polymer viscous solution by applying a high voltage. This chapter discusses the synthesis of metal oxide nanofibers such as tin oxide (SnO2), zinc oxide (ZnO), titanium oxide (TiO2), and nickel oxide (NiO) using electrospinning process of polymer solution containing metal precursors and followed by annealing procedures to eliminate the polymer galleries, which were chosen as a sacrificial template for the preparation of metal oxide nanofibers. SEM, XRD, and XPS are equipped to characterize the electrospun metal oxide nanofibers and the results settle the formation of homogeneously distributed metal oxide nanofibers

Sputtering of electrospun polymer-based nanofibers for biomedical applications: A perspective

Electrospinning has gained wide attention recently in biomedical applications. Electrospun biocompatible scaffolds are well-known for biomedical applications such as drug delivery, wound dressing, and tissue engineering applications. In this review, the synthesis of polymer-based fiber composites using an electrospinning technique is discussed. Formerly, metal particles were then deposited on the surface of electrospun fibers using sputtering technology. Key nanometals for biomedical applications including silver and copper nanoparticles are discussed throughout this review. The formulated scaffolds were found to be suitable candidates for biomedical uses such as antibacterial coatings, surface modification for improving biocompatibility, and tissue engineering. This review briefly mentions the characteristics of the nanostructures while focusing on how nanostructures hold potential for a wide range of biomedical applications.This work was funded by Qatar University, grant number GCC-2017-007 and the publication of this article was funded by the Qatar National Library.Scopu

Melt Electrospinning Designs for Nanofiber Fabrication for Different Applications

Nanofibers have been attracting growing attention owing to their outstanding physicochemical and structural properties as well as diverse and intriguing applications. Electrospinning has been known as a simple, flexible, and multipurpose technique for the fabrication of submicro scale fibers. Throughout the last two decades, numerous investigations have focused on the employment of electrospinning techniques to improve the characteristics of fabricated fibers. This review highlights the state of the art of melt electrospinning and clarifies the major categories based on multitemperature control, gas assist, laser melt, coaxial, and needleless designs. In addition, we represent the effect of melt electrospinning process parameters on the properties of produced fibers. Finally, this review summarizes the challenges and obstacles connected to the melt electrospinning technique.Scopu

Recent Advances In Stimuli-Responsive Drug release and targeting concepts using mesoporous silica nanoparticles

Being a developed and promising approach, nanotechnology has attracted a lot of attention in biomedical and pharmaceutical therapy applications. Among nanostructured materials, mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) are effectively used as nanocarriers for drug delivery systems. MSNs can be tailored-designed by different synthetic techniques. Their morphological characteristics dictate the type of application of such materials. Recently, polymer-based materials have been employed to functionalize the MSNs surface. These modified nanocarriers are loaded with the drug and can unload their “cargo” upon exposure to either endogenous or exogenous types of stimuli. In this study, different targeting concepts, including passive, active, vascular, nuclear, and multistage targeting, are discussed

A perspective on magnetic core–shell carriers for responsive and targeted drug delivery systems

Magnetic core–shell nanocarriers have been attracting growing interest owing to their physicochemical and structural properties. The main principles of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) are localized treatment and stability under the effect of external magnetic fields. Furthermore, these MNPs can be coated or functionalized to gain a responsive property to a specific trigger, such as pH, heat, or even enzymes. Current investigations have been focused on the employment of this concept in cancer therapies. The evaluation of magnetic core–shell materials includes their magnetization properties, toxicity, and efficacy in drug uptake and release. This review discusses some categories of magnetic core–shell drug carriers based on Fe2O3 and Fe3O4 as the core, and different shells such as poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid), poly(vinylpyrrolidone), chitosan, silica, calcium silicate, metal, and lipids. In addition, the review addresses their recent potential applications for cancer treatment.The authors would like to acknowledge Qatar University for funding the project: GCC Co-Fund Program Grant #GCC-2017-001 and student grant QUST-1-CAS-2019-36. The publication of this article was funded by the Qatar National Library.Scopu

Recent advances in functional nanostructures as cancer photothermal therapy.

Being a non-invasive and relatively safe technique, photothermal therapy has attracted a lot of interest in the cancer treatment field. Recently, nanostructure technology has entered the forefront of cancer therapy owing to its ability to absorb near-infrared radiation as well as efficient light to heat conversion. In this study, key nanostructures for cancer therapy including gold nanoparticles, magnetite iron oxide nanoparticles, organic nanomaterials, and novel two-dimensional nanoagents such as MXenes are discussed. Furthermore, we briefly discuss the characteristics of the nanostructures of these photothermal nanomaterial agents, while focusing on how nanostructures hold potential as cancer therapies. Finally, this review offers promising insight into new cancer therapy approaches, particularly in vivo and in vitro cancer treatments

Melt Electrospinning Designs for Nanofiber Fabrication for Different Applications

Nanofibers have been attracting growing attention owing to their outstanding physicochemical and structural properties as well as diverse and intriguing applications. Electrospinning has been known as a simple, flexible, and multipurpose technique for the fabrication of submicro scale fibers. Throughout the last two decades, numerous investigations have focused on the employment of electrospinning techniques to improve the characteristics of fabricated fibers. This review highlights the state of the art of melt electrospinning and clarifies the major categories based on multitemperature control, gas assist, laser melt, coaxial, and needleless designs. In addition, we represent the effect of melt electrospinning process parameters on the properties of produced fibers. Finally, this review summarizes the challenges and obstacles connected to the melt electrospinning technique

A brief overview of RF sputtering deposition of boron carbon nitride (BCN) thin films

A great part of interest has been paid for fabricating new materials with novel mechanical, optical, and electrical properties. Boron carbon nitride (BCN) ternary system was applied for variable bandgap semiconductors and systems with extreme hardness. The purpose of this literature review is to provide a brief historical overview of B4C and BN, to review recent research trends in the BCN synthesizes, and to summarize the fabrication of BCN thin films by plasma sputtering technique from B4C and BN targets in different gas atmospheres. Pre-set criteria are used to discuss the processing parameters affecting BCN performance which includes the gasses flow ratio and effect of temperature. Moreover, many characterization studies such as mechanical, etching, optical, photoluminescence, XPS, and corrosion studies of the RF sputtered BCN thin films are also covered. We further mentioned the application of BCN thin films to enhance the electrical properties of metal-insulator-metal (MIM) devices according to a previous report of Prakash et al. (Opt. Lett. 41, 4249, 2016).Qatar University (QU) - No. GCC-2017-007

Recent Overviews in Functional Polymer Composites for Biomedical Applications

Composite materials are considered as an essential part of our daily life due to their outstanding properties and diverse applications. Polymer composites are a widespread class of composites, characterized by low cost, facile processing methods, and varied applications ranging from daily-use issues to highly complicated electronics and advanced medical combinations. In this review, we focus on the most important fabrication techniques for bioapplied polymer composites such as electrospinning, melt-extrusion, solution mixing, and latex technology, as well as in situ methods. Additionally, significant and recent advances in biomedical applications are spotlighted, such as tissue engineering (including bone, blood vessels, oral tissues, and skin), dental resin-based composites, and wound dressing

Thermal properties of TiO 2 NP/CNT/LDPE hybrid nanocomposite films

This work aims to investigate the effect of hybrid filler concentration on the thermal stability of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) matrices. LDPE-based composite films were synthesized by melt mixing, followed by compression molding, to study the influence of titanium oxide nanoparticles (TONPs) and/or multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on the thermal properties of LDPE matrices. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy confirmed the slight increase in the band intensities after TONP addition and a remarkable surge after the incorporation of CNTs. The value of crystallization temperature (T c ) was not modified after incorporating TONPs, while an enhancement was observed after adding the hybrid fillers. The melting temperature (T m ) was not changed after introducing the CNTs and CNT/TONP hybrid fillers. The percentage crystallinity (X c %) was increased by 4% and 6%, after incorporating 1 wt % and 3 wt % CNTs, respectively. The TONP incorporation did not modify the X c %. Moreover, thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) thermograms confirmed the increased thermal stability after introducing CNTs and hybrid fillers compared to TONP incorporation. � 2018 by the authors.Acknowledgments: This work was made possible by NPRP grant # (NPRP5-039-2-014) from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation). The findings herein reflect the work, and are solely the responsibility of the authors. The publication of this article was funded by the Qatar National Library.Scopu