Open Access

REVIEW

A Review of PEO (Polyethylene Oxide) Assisted Electrospinning of Chitosan: Innovation, Production, and Application

Md. Tanvir Raihan¹, Md. Himel Mahmud², Badhon Chandra Mazumder², Md. Nazif Hasan Chowdhury³, Mohammad Tajul Islam^1,*

1 Department of Textile Engineering, Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology, 141 & 142, Love Road, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka, 1208, Bangladesh
2 Department of Textile Engineering, Northern University Bangladesh, 111/2, Ashkona, Dakshinkhan, Dhaka, 1230, Bangladesh
3 Department of Textile Engineering, Port City International University, Chattogram, 4225, Bangladesh

* Corresponding Author: Mohammad Tajul Islam. Email:

Journal of Polymer Materials 2025, 42(3), 677-711. https://doi.org/10.32604/jpm.2025.068356

Received 26 May 2025; Accepted 20 August 2025; Issue published 30 September 2025

Abstract

Electrospinning has gained significant importance across various fields, including biomedicine, filtration, and packaging due to the control it provides over the properties of the resulting materials, such as fiber diameter and membrane thickness. Chitosan is a biopolymer that can be utilized with both natural and synthetic copolymers, owing to its therapeutic potential, biocompatibility, and biodegradability. However, producing electrospun chitosan is challenging due to its high solution viscosity, which often results in the formation of beads instead of uniform fibers. To address this issue, the spinnability of chitosan is significantly enhanced, and the production of continuous nanofibers is facilitated by combining it with polymers such as polyethylene oxide (PEO) in suitable ratios. These chitosan–PEO nanofibers are primarily used in biomedical applications, including wound healing, drug delivery systems, and tissue engineering scaffolds. Additionally, they have shown promise in water treatment, filtration membranes, and packaging. Among all the nanofiber mats, chitosan/PEO-AC had the smallest fiber diameter (83 ± 12.5 nm), chitosan/PEO_45S5 had the highest tensile strength (1611 ± 678 MPa). This comprehensive review highlights recent advancements, ongoing challenges, and future directions in the electrospinning of chitosan-based fibers assisted by PEO.

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Keywords

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