Fabrication and Applications of Biological Fibers

Abstract

Fibers derived from processing of biological materials have long been implemented for commercial use as they are widelyavailable from a diverse range of renewable materials. Moreover, their natural mechanical and functional propertiescontinue to provide newfound sources of technological advancement in areas including medicine and filtration amongother more traditional fields. While not only providing inspiration, the study of biological fiber formation in organismssuch as spiders and silk worms has facilitated fundamental knowledge; however, this review concentrates instead onmore recent artificial fabrication techniques that have been adapted for the formation of 1D (one dimensional) fibers frombiological materials. In addition, we provide an extensive look at the various biological materials from the standpoint oftheir applications and fabrication methods. Areas encompassing the latest advancements in fiber processing techniqueswith respect to compositional and geometric control are discussed and provide a promising outlook of future growth in thiscontinually growing field.