Fabrication and Applications of Micro/Nanostructured Devices for Tissue Engineering

Abstract

Nanotechnology allows the realization of new materials and devices with basic structural unit in the range of 1–100 nm and characterized by gaining control at the atomic, molecular, and supramolecular level. Reducing the dimensions of a material into the nanoscale range usually results in the change of its physiochemical properties such as reactivity, crystallinity, and solubility. This review treats the convergence of last research news at the interface of nanostructured biomaterials and tissue engineering for emerging biomedical technologies such as scaffolding and tissue regeneration. The present review is organized into three main sections. The introduction concerns an overview of the increasing utility of nanostructured materials in the field of tissue engineering. It elucidates how nanotechnology, by working in the submicron length scale, assures the realization of a biocompatible interface that is able to reproduce the physiological cell–matrix interaction. The second, more technical section, concerns the design and fabrication of biocompatible surface characterized by micro- and submicroscale features, using microfabrication, nanolithography, and miscellaneous nanolithographic techniques. In the last part, we review the ongoing tissue engineering application of nanostructured materials and scaffolds in different fields such as neurology, cardiology, orthopedics, and skin tissue regeneration.

Design and optimization of biocompatible polycaprolactone/poly (l‐lactic‐co‐glycolic acid) scaffolds with and without microgrooves for tissue engineering applications

“…Different biomaterials are available for clinical applications; however, serious injury with an extensive tissue loss benefits exclusively from tissue or organ transplantation, as no artificial therapy has been satisfactorily developed for this end up to now . Therefore, current research efforts are focused to improve biomaterial‐driven tissue regeneration in response to the demand for new tissues and organs for clinical applications …”

“…Strategies to improve biomaterial characteristics include the combination of different natural and/or synthetic polymers, the composition of polymer mixtures, the use of nano‐ and microstructuration, as well as chemical modification of surfaces, aiming to obtain multifunctional materials or multihybrid systems that gather biocompatibility, mechanical, and structural properties and biomaterial‐driven regeneration …”

“…PLGA‐based biomaterials with nano/microporous allow nutrient permeability and favor cell adhesion and proliferation . PCL presents good mechanical proprieties and has been used in blends with other biocompatible polymers to counterbalance biological and mechanical features . Blends of PCL and PLGA are used to control cell adhesion and to adjust degradation time …”

“…The development of multifunctional biomaterials for tissue engineering applications has focused on improving their therapeutic properties to overcome many of the clinical issues related to loss of function of organs and tissues, such as peripheral nerves, bones, muscles, and tendons. [1][2][3] Different biomaterials are available for clinical applications; 2,4-6 however, serious injury with an extensive tissue loss benefits exclusively from tissue or organ transplantation, as no artificial therapy has been satisfactorily developed for this end up to now. 2 Therefore, current research efforts are focused to improve biomaterial-driven tissue regeneration 7 in response to the demand for new tissues and organs for clinical applications.…”

Electrospinning pectin-based nanofibers: a parametric and cross-linker study

“…The matrix is composed of fiber forming proteins as well as collagen fibers and soluble factors (Hinderer et al 2016). There is a great interest in fabricating scaffolds using nanofibers mimicking ECM for tissue engineering, considering the majority of the ECM biomolecules are at nanoscale and fibrous (Ao et al 2017;Ingavle and Leach 2014;Limongi et al 2016;Mortimer and Wright 2017;Ngadiman et al 2017). Scaffolds with nanoscale architectures provide many more binding sites to cell membrane receptors, compared with micropore or microfiber scaffolds (Stevens and George 2005).…”