Needle-less Electrospinning

Needle-less electrospinning appeared in the early 1970s, when Simm and coworkers filed a patent on using an annular electrode to electrostatically spin fibers for filtration appli cations. Next, Lukas et al. investigated the self-organization of charged jets initiated from the open free-liquid surface in the electrospinning process. Lin and colleagues developed a rotating spiral coil spinneret, which had a high fiber production rate with well-controlled fiber morphology. Liu et al. electrospun nanofibers by blowing air into the polymer solution. The bubbles generated assisted in jet initiation. Since 2008, growing research has been devoted to needle-less electrospinning. Research publications have been increasing constantly over the years. Over 100 articles about needle-less electrospinning or free-surface electrospinning have been published since 2007. The publication number between 2014 and 2016 was approximately 10 times more than that of 2007e2013 (Fig. 7.2A). Research is widespread in many countries. China, Australia, and the Czech Republic take about 80% of publications, followed by the United States, Germany, and England (Fig. 7.2B).