Combination of electrospinning with other techniques for the fabrication of 3D polymeric and composite nanofibrous scaffolds with improved cellular interactions

Abstract

The development of three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds with physical and chemical topological cues at the macro-, micro-, and nanometer scale is urgently needed for successful tissue engineering applications. 3D scaffolds can be manufactured by a wide variety of techniques. Electrospinning technology has emerged as a powerful manufacturing technique to produce non-woven nanofibrous scaffolds with very interesting features for tissue engineering products. However, electrospun scaffolds have some inherent limitations that compromise the regeneration of thick and complex tissues. By integrating electrospinning and other fabrication technologies, multifunctional 3D fibrous assemblies with micro/nanotopographical features can be created. The proper combination of techniques leads to materials with nano and macro-structure, allowing an improvement in the biological performance of tissue-engineered constructs. In this review, we focus on the most relevant strategies to produce electrospun polymer/composite scaffolds with 3D architecture. A detailed description of procedures involving physical and chemical agents to create structures with large pores and 3D fiber assemblies is introduced. Finally, characterization and biological assays including in vitro and in vivo studies of structures intended for the regeneration of functional tissues are briefly presented and discussed.

Recent progress in extrusion 3D bioprinting of hydrogel biomaterials for tissue regeneration: a comprehensive review with focus on advanced fabrication techniques

“…One of the freshest trends in regenerative medicine is the improvement of 3D-printing hydrogel scaffolds with biomimetic structures. However, it has been almost hard to achieve extremely biomimetic hydrogel constructs with proper mechanical properties Despite providing a controllable geometric configuration (macroarchitecture) and pore size, shape, interconnection, and spatial distribution (micro-architecture), 3D printing systems fail to create surface nano topographies, which are beneficial to enhance the performance of 3D printed constructs [59,60]. On the other hand, for the electrospun nanofiber scaffolds, although the porosity is high, even up to 90%, the pore size is too small for cells to migrate and infiltrate.…”

“…Additionally, this technology could be utilized for emergency circumstances like burn trauma cases and be used for urgent treatment in real-time. As mentioned before, the preparation of electrospun fibers into 3D porous biomimetic scaffolds with accurately controllable shapes and large pores for tissue regeneration has attracted research attention [59,60]. Accordingly, 3D skin asymmetric (3D_SAC) constructs were produced using electrospinning and 3D bioprinting techniques [119].…”

Advances in 3D Printing for Tissue Engineering

“…The mostly used scaffold fabrication methods include: electrospinning, additive manufacturing, phase separation, solution casting, foaming, extrusion, and self assembly [19]. In order to limit some disadvantages of the methods, a combination of them is often used, which sometimes leads to very interesting and promising effects [20]. Figure 3 shows various techniques to fabricate three-dimensional scaffolds while some of them are described further.…”

Biomimetic Hybrid Systems for Tissue Engineering

“…The combination of typical melt extrusion and solution electrospinning has also been applied to guarantee porosity through the presence of the more voluminous extruded microfibers [117]. In fact, the integration of electrospinning with other technologies allows to get multifunctional 3D systems having nano and macro-features and a clear improvement of biological performance [118].…”