Core‐Sheath Fibers for Regenerative Medicine

Abstract

The history of fibers in biomedical sciences is not novel. However, the discovery of degradable polymers and advancement in fiber formation technology has ameliorated the regenerative medicine. Fiber-coated implants, synthetic sutures, and tissue engineering scaffolds are some of the best examples of biomedical fiber technology. In the last two decades, electrospinning has emerged as one of the potential techniques for large-scale production of nanofibers. Because of their inherent appearance similar to the natural extracellular matrix, electrospun fibrous meshes exhibit widespread applications in tissue engineering and drug delivery applications. Further modification in this technique such as co-electrospinning has enabled the fabrication of core/sheath nanofibers. Single step production, multi-component loading capability, and fiber fabrication from non-spinnable materials are the major advantages making co-axial electrospinning versatile enough for various biomedical applications. Therefore this chapter will enlighten concerning the fabrication of core-sheath nanofibers and its applications in regenerative medicine.

Drug Delivery Applications of Core-Sheath Nanofibers Prepared by Coaxial Electrospinning: A Review

“…When the charge accumulation reaches a threshold, a jet emerges from the tip of the deformed droplet directed towards the counter electrode. Finally, a core-shell fiber is deposited on the substrate [56]. Recently, Hai et al [57] have reported the process of Taylor cone formation in typical one-fluid electrospinning and coaxial electrospinning processes; the digital photographic observations from their study are given in Figure 4.…”