One-dimensional (1-D) nanostructures have attracted enormous research interest due to their unique physicochemical properties and wide application potential. These 1-D nanofibers are being increasingly applied to biomedical fields owing to their high surface area-to-volume ratio, high porosity, and the ease of tuning their structures, functionalities, and properties. Many biomedical nanofiber reviews have focused on tissue engineering and drug delivery applications but have very rarely discussed their use as wound dressings. However, nanofibers have enormous potential as wound dressings and other clinical applications that could have wide impacts on the treatment of wounds. Herein, the authors review the main fabrication methods of nanofibers as well as requirements, strategies, and recent applications of nanofibers, and provide perspectives of the challenges and opportunities that face multifunctional nanofibers for active therapeutic applications.

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Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/a-zirconium phosphate (ZrP) polymer nanocomposite (PNC) fibers were successfully prepared by a simple and low-cost electrospinning process. ZrP nanoparticles with two different dimensions, that is, ZrP-500 with a lateral dimension of *320 nm and an aspect ratio of *500 and ZrP-1500 with a lateral dimension of *950 nm and an aspect ratio of *1500, were utilized to illustrate the size effect on the electrospun nanofibers. In order to obtain defectfree, uniform PNC fibers, a number of parameters including polymer concentration, feed rate, applied voltage and working distance between the needle tip and the fiber collecting substrate were investigated. Scanning electron microscopic morphological analysis showed smooth and nonwoven electrospun nanofiber mat. Strong intermolecular interactions between the PVA matrix and the included ZrP nanofillers were revealed by the attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The incorporation of ZrP nanofillers drastically improved the thermal stability of the PNC fibers. Results of thermogravimetric analysis demonstrated a clear thermal stability dependence on the aspect ratio of the crystalline ZrP nanofillers. The degradation temperature was increased by 90 C for the ZrP-1500 and 60 C for ZrP-500, when the loading level was increased from 1 wt% to 5 wt%. Furthermore, the viscoelastic properties of the PNC solutions were studied by the rheometer. The solutions with higher loading of the nanofiller exhibited higher viscosity and demonstrated different fluid nature when compared with the solutions at lower loading level.