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Seeram Ramakrishna answers a
few questions about this month's fast breaking paper in the field of
Materials Science.
From
•>>April 2005
Field:
Materials Science
Article Title: A review on polymer nanofibers by electrospinning and their applications in nanocomposites
Authors: Huang, ZM;Zhang, YZ;Kotaki, M;Ramakrishna, S
Journal: COMPOSITES SCI TECHNOL
Volume: 63
Page: 2223-2253
Year: NOV 2003
* Tongji Univ, Dept Engn Mech, 1239 Siping Rd, Shanghai 200092, Peoples R China.
* Tongji Univ, Dept Engn Mech, Shanghai 200092, Peoples R China.
* Natl Univ Singapore, Div Bioengn, Singapore 119260, Singapore.
* Natl Univ Singapore, Nanosci & Nanotechnol Initiat, Singapore 119260, Singapore.
* Natl Univ Singapore, Dept Mech Engn, Singapore 119260, Singapore.
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 Why
do you think your paper is highly cited?
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“Electrospinning method uses simple equipment to produce nanofibers in sufficiently large quantities.”
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It is a comprehensive paper that critically reviews the
state-of-the-art in "nanofibers by the electrospinning
method," a strongly emerging research and development area
around the globe.
Does
it describe a new discovery or a new methodology that's useful to
others?
This paper describes methodologies to control the geometry
and orientation of electrospun nanofibers, which are essential
for realization of applications in medicine, biology, and
engineering.
Could
you summarize the significance of your paper in layman's terms?
Researchers around the world have been looking for ways to
produce high aspect ratio nanofibers and continuous nanofibers
in a simple and reproducible manner. The electrospinning method
uses simple equipment to produce nanofibers in sufficiently
large quantities. Using this method it is now possible to
produce a variety of nanofibers from polymer, organic-inorganic,
and ceramic systems.
How
did you become involved in this research?
I have been involved in micron fibers and polymer composite
materials research for the last 15 years. I have been developing
synthetic biomaterials for dental and orthopedic applications
and soft-tissue engineering scaffold applications. As my
understanding of the biological world increased, it became clear
to me that the best way to design and develop a functional
synthetic biomaterial is to mimic the natural tissues which are
composed of nanometer scale fibers arranged in hierarchical
architectures. Over the last few years my team has been
researching various ways to produce nanofibers. Finally we
zoomed in on the electrospinning method. By innovatively
modifying the electrospinning process, we were able to produce a
desired range of nanofibers for applications such as
nanocomposites, tissue engineering, affinity membranes for
biomolecular separation and water purification, filters against
the chemical and biological agents, and sensors. This is an
exciting research area with great potential. There are now over
100 research teams around the world concentrating on these same
issues.
Professor Seeram Ramakrishna
Director, NUS Nanoscience & Nanotechnology Initiative (NUSNNI)
Dean, NUS Faculty of Engineering
National University of Singapore, Singapore
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ESI Special Topics,
April 2005
Citing URL - http://www.esi-topics.com/fbp/2005/april05-SeeramRamakrishna.html
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