Natural fiber

Types of Natural Fibers

• Plant Fibers Seed fibers (e.g., cotton), leaf fibers (e.g., banana, pineapple), bast fibers (e.g., flax, jute), fruit fibers (e.g., coconut), stalk fibers (e.g., wheat, rice, bamboo).
• Animal Fibers Silk (from insects), wool (from sheep, goats, alpacas), chitin (from mollusks, insects, arthropods), collagen (structural protein in tissues), keratin (structural protein in vertebrates).

Chitin and Chitosan

• Chitin Second most abundant natural polymer after collagen, provides structural support in living organisms, forms fibrils in biological materials.
• Chitosan Deacetylated derivative of chitin, soluble in acidic solutions, used in biomedical applications.

Industrial Use of Natural Fibers

• Animal Fibers Wool, silk, camel hair, angora.
• Plant Fibers Cotton, flax, hemp, jute.
• Dominant Production Cotton for textiles.

Natural Fiber Composites

• Biocomposites Natural fibers in synthetic polymer matrices, advantages over synthetic fibers, design issues.
• Nanocomposites Valued for mechanical properties, examples in biology, challenges in natural fiber nanocomposites.

Biomaterials and Biocompatibility

• Medical Applications Natural fibers promising as biomaterials, chitin applications in medical and industrial uses.
• Research Areas Mechanical properties of living tissues, natural fiber properties, materials science approach in biomechanics.

Natural fiber Data Sources