ABSTRACT

Opportunities of Nanofibers; Methods of Productions and Applications

Electrospinning is an easy and cost effective way to fabricate nanofibers with diameters ranging from 3 nm to more than 5 µm that can be used in large scale production. Electrospun nanofibrous meshes have gained large attention in terms of their versatile applications in drug delivery, tissue engineering, wound dressing, biosensors, enzyme carriers, protective materials, energy storage and filters. The general technique of electrospinning can be obtained with high voltage, collector and needle; however, needleless ones can be used for large scale production. Moreover, blow-assisted electrospinning machine is other technique with more advantages.  The technology of air filtration is applicable for industrial air filtration, HVAC systems, high efficiency air filtration (HEA, HEPA and ULPA), turbine air filtration, household air filtration like air purifier, vacuum and cleaner, gas masks and respirators. Beside concerns about air pollution, personal protection against bacteria and virus is another concern especially in outbreak situations like SARS, MERS and recent Life-threatening novel corona virus (COVID-19). Filter respirators in commercial grade are considered as a standard practice for protection against PM and bio-hazardous particles although, it should be noted that most of these commercial respirator facemasks provide insufficient efficiency to filter PM10 and PM2.5 and bio-hazardous. The reliable respirator facemask for personal protection against PM0.3, microorganisms and some viruses loaded bio-aerosols is N95 respiratory facemask. However, increasing efficiency of N95 respiratory facemask is with the cost of increased pressure drop, so electrospinning can be a suitable alternative fabrication method to overcome this limitation of N95 respiratory facemask. In this presentation, the production methods and applications of nanofibers will be reviewed.

BIOGRAPHY  

Dr Reza Faridi Majidi serves as Associate Professor at Department of Medical Nanotechnology in School of Advanced Technology in Medical Services, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS). He holds the position of Chairman of FNM Ltd, a knowledge-based company for the development of nanofibers technology and its application from Iran. Dr Faridi is also the Chief Technology Officer for Nanolab Instruments Sdn Bhd. 

He is the 3rd Laureate R&D of 25th Khwarizmi International Award (2012), ranked as 2nd winner in Technology of 6th National Nano-Awards Festival (2011), and won 8th place in International Nanotechnology Festival (2009). He is the project leader of ISO Standard ISO/TS 21237:2020, titled “Air Filter Media Containing Polymeric Nanofibers- Specification of Characteristics and Measurement Methods”. He has published 65 publications and patented 3 products.