Highly porous 3D nanofiber scaffold using an electrospinning technique

Abstract

A successful 3D tissue-engineering scaffold must have a highly porous structure and good mechanical stability. High porosity and optimally designed pore size provide structural space for cell accommodation and migration and enable the exchange of nutrients between the scaffold and environment. Poly(epsilon-carprolactone) fibers were electrospun using an auxiliary electrode and chemical blowing agent (BA), and characterized according to porosity, pore size, and their mechanical properties. We also investigated the effect of the BA on the electrospinning processability. The growth characteristic of human dermal fibroblasts cells cultured in the webs showed the good adhesion with the blown web relative to a normal electrospun mat. The blown nanofiber web had good tensile properties and high porosity compared to a typical electrospun nanofiber scaffold.

Airbrushed Composite Polymer Zr-ACP Nanofiber Scaffolds with Improved Cell Penetration for Bone Tissue Regeneration

“…28,30 Although electrospinning provides fine control over nanofiber synthesis, there are some limitations to applications in tissue engineering such as the inability to deposit fibers without an electric field, slow deposition rates, complex synthesis setups, and poor cell penetration within a fibrous network. 13,31 As shown in this and our earlier studies, nanofiber airbrushing provides a solution to many of these limitations. 32 Certain bulk material properties and scaffold morphology, including the Young's modulus, network pore size and porosity were reported to be different between electrospun and airbrushed scaffolds and potentially advantageous for tissue regeneration applications.…”

“…Other methods may require unique solvents or specifically designed fiber collecting devices. 4,13,16 On the other hand, airbrushing is a simple, safe, and robust method (composite nanofiber synthesis from various polymers) allowing for more open-pore scaffold structure synthesis.…”

“…Closely deposited nanofibers can create dense mats limiting cell in-growth within the scaffold and thereby, providing a limited 3D platform. 13 Synthesizing scaffolds where cells penetrate within networks and interact in both horizontal and vertical directions is still challenging and underreported. [14][15][16] Ideally, to better facilitate cell connectivity in all directions, fibrous scaffolds should have an open structure while providing biomimicking tissue morphology on both a micro and submicron scale.…”

Poly (ε-caprolactone) nanofibrous ring surrounding a polyvinyl alcohol hydrogel for the development of a biocompatible two-part artificial cornea

“…Many studies have revealed that cell attachment and proliferation on the surface of biomaterials increases when surface hydrophilicity is increased. 17,23,31,32 To compare the hydrophilicity of the surface of the PCL scaffold before and after surface modifications, the water contact angle of the specimens was measured. The results showed that the hydrophilicity of the surfaces was increased after surface modification, confirming the role of hydrophilic groups (OH and COOH) in increasing the hydrophilicity of surfaces after plasma treatment.…”

Advantages of Sheep Infrapatellar Fat Pad Adipose Tissue Derived Stem Cells in Tissue Engineering

“…3 Furthermore, ASCs have been shown to be immune privileged, and more genetically stable in long-term culture, compared to BMSCs. 4 The efficacy of ASCs for tissue regeneration is currently under assessment in clinical trials. 5 Adipose tissue is well established as an easily accessible source of adult mesenchymal stem cells with properties suitable for tissue engineering and cell therapy.…”