Electrospun natural polysaccharide for biomedical applications.

Abstract

Electrospinning is a simple and versatile technique in nanotechnology for fabricating nanofibers scaffolds for tissue regenerations, drug delivery systems, wound healing, and cancer therapy. This chapter provides a synopsis and overview of using various type of natural polysaccharides from human, animals, plants, seaweeds and microbe origins for electrospinning. The electrospun natural polysaccharide nanofibers are widely used in the biomedical fields due to their biocompatibility, high porosity, large surface area-to-volume, improved drug encapsulation and excellent cell proliferation. The topics presented in this book chapter are focused on illustrating the chemical structures of several natural polysaccharides from different origins. In addition, an outline is present of previous research activities and the potential biomedical applications of these electrospun natural polysaccharide nanofibers. The electrospinning of solely polysaccharides present challenges because of chain entanglements and viscosity, so it is essential to blend with other natural and synthetic polymers to overcomes these aspects.