Introduction to electrofluidodynamic techniques Part I: Process optimization

A large variety of processes and tools have recently emerged to design biomaterials with controlled chemical, physical, and biological properties for biomedical applications. Among them, electrofluidodynamics (EFDs) are revolutionizing traditional biomaterial manufacturing approaches by the use of electrostatic forces as driving force for the fabrication of 3D templates able to address cells and/or molecules both in vitro and in vivo. They basically identify relatively complex fabrication processes to design innovative devices--based on fibers and/or particles at micro- and/or submicrometric-size scale--with restrained manufacturing costs but high functional complexity. Herein, we will focus on all the main technological aspects related to the process optimization, i.e., electrospinning, electrospraying, and electrodynamic atomization, in order to emphasize the high versatility of EFDs for satisfactory customization of bioinspired platforms for different biomedical uses (i.e., tissue engineering, molecular delivery, cancer therapy).