Historically, until the 20th century, ion exchange materials (IEMs) and the ion 
exchange process were considered significant developments in physical, organic and 
analytical chemistry, and agricultural and environmental fields; however, more recently, 
these material and processes have found increased attention in the fields of medicine and 
healthcare. The use of natural adsorbents and ion exchangers (e.g., kaolin, bentonite, 
alginates, alumina, and charcoal, etc.) has been known within pharmaceutical industries 

With contributions of research groups around the world in the last decade, the electrospinning process and its setup has made incredible progress. This technique is now capable of processing a variety of materials (such as organic polymers, composites and ceramics, etc.) not only into fibers with ultrafine diameters, but also to align and form core shell and hollow fibers as well. Therefore, it is not a surprise to many researchers that it has already found applications in many areas such as environmental engineering, biotechnology, defense, energy generation, etc.

Advances in engineering nanostructures with exquisite control of size and shape, their unique properties and broad applications (e.g., probes in ultrasensitive molecular sensing and diagnostic imaging, agents for photodynamic therapy and actuators for drug delivery, triggers for photothermal treatment, and precursors for building solar cells, electronics and light emitting diodes) have made nanotechnology an exciting research area. As the field moves from academic findings to industrial products, concerns have surfaced on the subject of the toxicity of nanostructures.