Modified Fibers with Medical and Specialty Applications

The initial impetus for this book on ?bers originated from a weeklong s- posium where scientists of a variety of walks met to discuss their work on ?bers with medical and specialty applications. Seeing the bene?ts of sharing information across disparate ?elds and disciplines of science we realized the potential for cross-fertilization of ideas between different area of ?ber science. Thus, represented here are a variety of potential product lines under the cover of a single book, which for the imaginative scientist we hope will lead to some new food for thought. The ?elds of medical and specialty ?bers include a wide array of naturalandsynthetic textiles,medicaldevices,andspecialtypaperand wood products. Research in these areas has become more interesting to s- entists who are seeking to strike out in new directions based on an impulse to createnewproductsthatmeettheunmetneedsofrapidlygrowing?bermarkets in wound care, prosthetic, and cellulosic arenas. It is hoped that providing new concepts and approaches to working with different types of ?brous materials willgivethereadersomepulseofthecurrentclimateandresearchopportunities of medical and specialty ?bers. Breakthroughs into a better understanding of wound healing, biomaterial design, ?ber surface chemistry and bio- and na- technologies are currently providing the impetus to create the ?ber products of the future. The editors feel that a book of this type would be remiss wi- out discussions of the impact interdisciplinary scienti?c pursuits are having on ?ber design.

Modified Fibers with Medical and Speciality Applications

Steve Goheen, Gisela Buschle-Diller and Vince Edwards (Editors)

A helpful introduction into diverse new areas of medical and speciality fiber development, including wound dressing and implant design, protein-fiber interactions, and basics in electrospinning technology.

Modified Fibers with Medical and Speciality Applications incorporates diverse aspects of fiber modification into a single volume. The book lays out some cutting edge areas of fiber design and function in an introductory format that gives interested readers insight into fertile areas of fiber research. This book is unique in that it addresses a wide range of applications and modifications of natural and synthetic fibers for various applications. The focus is on medical applications, but others are also included. Some of these applications are related to military and homeland security applications, a very timely subject. Others are related to wound dressing design and future improvements. This book addresses many of the newer research areas as they relate to fiber modification. The book focuses on the state-of-the-art research, as new applications for synthetic and natural fibers emerge, in these areas.

Smart wound dressing design

Protein adsorption

Microbe adhesion

Surface activation

Covalent coupling

Biocompatibility

Magnetic fibers

 

This book will be an invaluable resource for researchers and others interested in future developments in fiber technology. Several innovative applications for natural and synthetic fibers are described in considerable detail with emphasis on the experimental data that supports these new applications. From bandages to magnetic materials and from antibacterial clothing to implants, creative modifications to fibers are described that could one day become commonplace. Never before has this much new information about fiber modification been packaged into one book volume. In this book the world’s leading experts describe their most recent research in their areas of expertise.

The book will also be a useful tool for students and researchers, providing helpful insights into new evolving research areas in medical and speciality fiber application. It is suitable for workshops introducing current concepts in fibers, for textile undergraduate courses, as well as for professional seminars.