Thermally stable absorbable fiber populations, i.e. fiber populations that do not undergo thermally induced crystallization, can be intermixed with thermally unstable fibers to yield a stabilizing effect without altering morphological properties of a fiber system. Via this, one may minimize thermally induced shrinkage and maintain physical properties of electrospun materials in the as-formed state.

A polymeric article of high ductility produced by rapid prototyping or selective laser sintering, and a method of making the same. The article comprises a plurality of layers of a fused thermoplastic powder, the thermoplastic powder comprising asymmetric fibrous particles having a mean length L and a mean width W, wherein L>2 W. Within each of the layers, the mean length L of the asymmetric fibrous particles is preferentially oriented in a plane parallel to the layer. The polymeric article has a stress-strain curve such that ultimate strength is reached at a strain of 10% to 20%, and breaking stress is reached at >30% strain.

The invention discloses a method for preparing wheat gluten nanofibers, which comprises steps of: (1) dissolving wheat gluten and glycerol monolaurate in a solvent to obtain a spinning solution; the solvent is an aqueous acetic acid solution; a volume percentage concentration of the aqueous acetic acid solution is 40-60%; in the spinning solution, a mass percentage concentration of wheat gluten is 20-30%; (2) carrying out electrospinning with the spinning solution to obtain wheat gluten nanofibers. The wheat gluten nanofibers of the present invention have water stability and antibacterial function, and are obtained by electrospinning with wheat gluten as a raw material, so the wheat gluten nanofibers have good biocompatibility and biodegradability.

The invention concerns a composition to be electrospun comprising a first compound to be electrospun, an electrospinning promoter and at least one active ingredient, as well as a method to prepare it. This composition allows to obtain electrospun nanometric fibers with good structural and absorption properties.

The present invention provides an anisotropic, thermal conductive, electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding composite including a plurality of aligned polymer nanofibers to form a polymer mat or scaffold having a first and second planes of orientation of the polymer nanofibers. The first plane of orientation of the polymer nanofibers has a thermal conductivity substantially the same as or similar to that of the second plane, and the thermal conductivity of the first or second plane of orientation of the polymer nanofibers is at least 2-fold of that of a third plane of orientation of the polymer nanofibers which is about 90 degrees out of the first and second planes of orientation of the polymer nanofibers, respectively, while the electrical resistance of each of the first and second planes is at least 3 orders lower than that of the third plane. A method for preparing the present composite is also provided.

The invention concerns a composition to be electrospun, which comprises a first compound to be electrospun and an electrospinning promoter, the function of which is to facilitate the electrospinning of the first compound, in particular to establish the electrospinning method in order to obtain regular fibers. A method to prepare the composition is also described, which provides a step of mixing a first compound to be electrospun with an electrospinning promoter.

An electrospun nanofiber membrane and a method for preparing the electrospun nanofiber membrane are provided to solve problems of poor mechanical properties, short service life, poor uniformity and consistency of orientation of fibers and poor stability of fiber networks in current electrospun composite nanofiber materials. The electrospun nanofiber membrane is prepared by spinning solution through a high-voltage electrospinning device. The spinning solution is blending solution of regenerated silk fibroin: polyvinyl alcohol: polylactic acid with a mass ratio being 75-85:10-20:5 dissolved in a mixed solvent of trifluoroacetic acid and dichloromethane with a volume ratio being 7:3. The method establishes a reasonable mass ratio parameter of the regenerated silk fibroin, the polyvinyl alcohol and the polylactic acid to blending spinning to improve spinnability of silk fibroin, as well as prepare the electrospun composite nanofiber membrane with good mechanical properties.

Membranes suitable for use in membrane distillation are provided. Such membranes may include nano-fibrous layers with adjustable pore sizes. The membranes may include a hydrophobic nanofibrous scaffold and a thin hydrophilic protecting layer that can significantly reduce fouling and scaling problems.

The present invention provides a method for fabricating patterned cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) composite nanofibers and thin films for optical and electromagnetic sensor and actuator application, comprising the following steps of: selecting materials for fabricating patterned cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) composite nanofibers; and fabricating patterned CNCs composite nanofibers by incorporating secondary phases either during electrospinning or post-processing, wherein the secondary phases may include dielectrics, electrically or magnetically activated nanoparticles or polymers and biological cells mechanically reinforced by CNCs.

A handheld portable electrostatic device for electrostatically applying a treatment solution to a treatment site of a patient, including a housing and a cartridge removably disposed in the housing. The cartridge includes a cartridge housing and a nozzle for applying the treatment solution. An electrostatic module is provided to electrostatically charge and ionize molecules of the treatment solution of the cartridge. The treatment solution is configured to flow toward the nozzle whereby at least one electrode electrically connected to the electrostatic module physically contacts the treatment solution as it flows therethrough and applies an electrical charge to the treatment solution.