Introduction to electrospinning

Electrospinning is a simple and highly versatile method for generating ultrathin fibres (mainly polymers) with diameters ranging from a few micrometres to tens of nanometres. This technique has attracted tremendous recent interest in both academia and industry, owing to its unique ability to produce ultrafine fibres of different materials in various fibrous assemblies. In this chapter, a brief introduction to the process (principles, setup, parameters and apparatus) and associated morphology of electrospun fibres is provided. Thereafter, the materials used (synthetic and natural polymers, polymer blends, etc.) and the applications of electrospun ultrafibres (particularly in the field of tissue engineering), are reviewed and discussed.