Surfaces and transport in functional nanofibrous structures

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Nanofibres show promise in such advanced applications as chemical or bio-defense, wound care and tissue engineering. A critical aspect for the design and evaluation of biomedical nanofibres is related to their surface and transport properties. For example, three important criteria in the design of tissue engineering scaffolds have been identified as 1) modification of scaffold surfaces to promote cell adherence and growth; 2) controlled release of bio-molecules from the scaffolds; and 3) scaffold mass transport. The tortuous structure of nanofibrous materials has made studies more challenging than solid or flat materials. Therefore, the long-term objective of the proposed research is to characterize the relationship between the structures, surface properties, and the transport properties of nanofibrous materials and biomembranes. The short term objectives are to develop and characterize multifunctional nanofibres, to characterize surface/interface properties of functional nanofibrous materials, and to study the multi-scale transport phenomena that may occur in biomedical applications of nanofibrous structures. The proposed research will engineer functional nanofibres and develop novel multi-scale approaches for the studies of surface/interface and transport phenomena that are critical in the biomedical applications of functional nanofibrous materials. The result of the research will provide groundwork for the development of functional nanofibrous materials to meet emerging needs in advanced biomedical applications, including bio-defense, wound dressing and tissue engineering. The proposed studies will lead to commercial and economic benefits by developing high value-added products. The provincial and Canadian textile and material industries will enhance their competitiveness and increase their proportion of the textile market in biomedical and technical sectors, thereby contributing to the country's economic growth and job creation.