Biomedical Applications of Natural Polymer Based Nanofibrous Scaffolds

Abstract

Nanotechnology is one of the most popular branches of science in the current decade where nanofiber scaffolds (NS) attain principal attraction. NS are composed of several nanometer to micrometer diameter fibers similar in nature to collagen, keratin and elastin fibers of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and helps in cell attachment, proliferation and differentiation. NS with desired features can be fabricated using various chemical, physical and biological methods such as electrospinning, phase separation, self-assembly, templating etc. Most often NS are fabricated using ECM derived compounds, naturally occurring polysaccharides such as chitosan, pullulan, dextran and many other synthetic compounds. Like ECM in natural niche NS interacts with cells and hence holds wide applications in Tissue engineering (TE)/ regenerative medicine where they are used as replacement for nerve, blood vessels, skin, muscle, bone and cartilage. They have also established applications in wound healing, drug testing and drug/ growth factor/ gene delivery. Application of cell free scaffolds for the culture of stem cells isolated from individual persons could pave way towards personalised therapy using TE. Cancer cells cultured in 3D microenvironment created with NS were observed to enhance the epithelial to mesenchymal transition. The present review principally focuses on various fabrication techniques and the application of various natural and synthetic compounds in tissue engineering.

Electrospun Polyvinylidene Fluoride-Based Fibrous Scaffolds with Piezoelectric Characteristics for Bone and Neural Tissue Engineering

“…Compared to conventional processed scaffolds, electrospun nanofibrous mats with a large surface to volume ratio are attractive for tissue engineering applications because they mimic the fibrillar structure of natural ECM secreted by the cells (Figure 9) [116]. Fibers from nano- to micrometer scale can be prepared by electrospinning.…”

Ultrasound sonication prior to electrospinning tailors silk fibroin/PEO membranes for periodontal regeneration

“…The used electrospinning setup relied on three components. A highvoltage supplier, a capillary needle in which our polymeric solution will be inserted and a grounded collector (aluminum foil) [40][41][42]. The electrospinning process parameters were optimized to achieve stable and reproducible spinning, in particular the flow rate, applied voltage and the distance between the tip off the syringe (a 18 G tip was used) and the grounded collector.…”

“…For SEM analysis, samples were fixed with 2.5% glutaraldehyde solution, washed with phosphate buffered saline (PBS) and serially dehydrated with increasing concentrations of ethanol (10,20,30,40,50,60,70,80, 90 and 100%), sputter-coated with a thin layer (9-12 nm) of gold/palladium (SPI Module Sputter Equipment). The specimens were further analyzed by SEM using a Quanta 400 FEG ESEM/EDAX Genesis X4M (FEI Company, USA).…”