![]() ![]() The tissue engineering scaffold provides the 3D microenvironment needed for the growth of cells damaged by disease, injury, or congenital defects, and the selection of the material depends, to a great extent, on the tissue-specific application. The field of tissue engineering attempts to restore or regenerate the functionality of healthy tissues and organs using the three essential components of cells, biomolecules, and scaffolds. Together, these attributes of electrospun nanofibers have attracted the attention of biomedical researchers and led to investigation for use in skin, bone, cartilage, nerve, blood vessel, tendon, and other tissue regeneration applications. More importantly, a variety of natural and synthetic polymers can be electrospun that have biocompatibility and biodegradability and are reabsorbed by the human body. This tissue engineering application is because most human tissues and organs are composed of nanofibers in the ECM, which makes it possible for electrospun nanofiber use in tissue and organ repair as a mimic. As such, the unique structure of electrospun membranes have broad applications in many fields but are of particular interest as scaffolds for tissue engineering. As the fibers collect, an electrospun membrane is built with 3D topography, high porosity, and large surface area, while retaining mechanical integrity and fiber continuity. Simply, electrospinning can be considered an electrohydrodynamic process dependent on the potential difference to create a liquid jet, followed by mechanical stretching, elongation, and drying to generate fibers. The typical electrospinning apparatus includes a high-voltage power supply, a syringe pump to control polymer flow rate, a spinneret (e.g., a medical needle with a blunt tip), and a conductive collector to catch the electrospun fibers. Electrospinning provides a simple and straightforward approach to produce continuous, polymer fibers with diameters ranging from nanometers to microns. It was the first international patent for the preparation of nanofibers using an electrical potential difference as a driving force, which coined the term electrospinning. Finally, we conclude with current advancements in the fabrication of electrospun nanofiber scaffolds and their biomedical applications in emerging areas.Īs an alternative, Formhals invented a device capable of producing nanoscale polymer fibers using a high-voltage electric field and applied for a patent in 1934. Next, we highlight the most important and recent advances related to the applications of electrospun nanofibers in tissue engineering, including skin, blood vessels, nerves, bone, cartilage, and tendon/ligament applications. We first briefly introduce the electrospinning process and then cover its principles and standard equipment for biomaterial fabrication. In this review, we provide an overview of the electrospinning process, its principles, and the application of the resultant electrospun nanofibers for tissue engineering. Electrospun nanofibers have been successfully used as scaffolds for a variety of tissue engineering applications because they are biomimetic of the natural, fibrous extracellular matrix (ECM) and contain a three-dimensional (3D) network of interconnected pores. The three fundamental pillars of tissue engineering are scaffolds, cells, and biomolecules. Tissue engineering is an interdisciplinary field that integrates medical, biological, and engineering expertise to restore or regenerate the functionality of healthy tissues and organs. ![]()
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