Emerging Nanofiber Production Technologies: Principles, Advances, and Applications

Abstract

Nanofibers have attracted increasing attention across multiple industries, including pharmaceuticals, biomedicine, textiles, environmental purification, and food packaging, owing to their exceptional physicochemical properties. Composed of polymers engineered for specific functions, nanofibers possess high surface area-to-volume ratios, tunable porosity, and favorable biodegradability and biocompatibility. These features make them suitable for diverse applications, including targeted drug delivery, wound healing, implantable medical devices, active and intelligent food packaging, filtration, and adsorption-based water treatment systems. This review provides a comprehensive overview of conventional and emerging nanofiber production methods, emphasizing their underlying mechanisms, advantages, and limitations. Particular attention is given to electrospinning, melt blowing, solution blow spinning, centrifugal spinning, and hybrid techniques, alongside recent advances aimed at improving scalability, structural control, and environmental sustainability. Additionally, the review summarizes key characterization approaches, morphological, structural, mechanical, thermal, and surface property analyses, and highlights the expanding application landscape of nanofibers in biomedical, environmental, food, and energy sectors. Overall, the review underscores the technological progress and future potential of next-generation nanofiber production strategies for high-performance materials and industrial applications.