Researchers develop new method of making nanofibres

The polymers can be made from natural materials such as proteins or from human-made substances to make plastic, rubber or fibre.

The new method, dubbed magnetospinning by researchers at the University of Georgia, is said to provide a simple, scalable and safe means for producing large quantities of nanofibres that can be embedded with materials such as live cells and drugs.

“The process we have developed makes it possible for almost anyone to manufacture high-quality nanofibres without the need for expensive equipment,” said Sergiy Minko, study co-author and the Georgia Power Professor of Polymers, Fibres and Textiles at the College of Family and Consumer Sciences.

“This not only reduces costs, but it also makes it possible for more businesses and researchers to experiment with nanofibres without worrying too much about their budget,” he said in a statement.

Many thousands of times thinner than the average human hair, nanofibres are used to create advanced wound dressings and for tissue regeneration, drug testing, stem cell therapies and the delivery of drugs directly to the site of infection.