Fabrication and Evaluation of Electrospun, 3D-Bioplotted, and Combination of Electrospun/3D-Bioplotted Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering Applications

Abstract

Electrospun scaffolds provide a dense framework of nanofibers with pore sizes and fiber diameters that closely resemble the architecture of native extracellular matrix. However, it generates limited three-dimensional structures of relevant physiological thicknesses. 3D printing allows digitally controlled fabrication of three-dimensional single/multimaterial constructs with precisely ordered fiber and pore architecture in a single build. However, this approach generally lacks the ability to achieve submicron resolution features to mimic native tissue. The goal of this study was to fabricate and evaluate 3D printed, electrospun, and combination of 3D printed/electrospun scaffolds to mimic the native architecture of heterogeneous tissue. We assessed their ability to support viability and proliferation of human adipose derived stem cells (hASC). Cells had increased proliferation and high viability over 21 days on all scaffolds. We further tested implantation of stacked-electrospun scaffold versus combined electrospun/3D scaffold on a cadaveric pig knee model and found that stacked-electrospun scaffold easily delaminated during implantation while the combined scaffold was easier to implant. Our approach combining these two commonly used scaffold fabrication technologies allows for the creation of a scaffold with more close resemblance to heterogeneous tissue architecture, holding great potential for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications of osteochondral tissue and other heterogeneous tissues.

The effect of chrysin–curcumin-loaded nanofibres on the wound-healing process in male rats

“…The aim of the present study is to fabricate chrysin-curcumin-loaded PCL-PEG nanofibres using the electrospinning technique [50,51] and then evaluate the biological activity of the chrysin-curcumin-loaded PCL-PEG fibres on the wound healing process and its related genes using an in vivo rat method.…”

Emerging Trends in Information‐Driven Engineering of Complex Biological Systems

“…Kostina et al are addressing this issue by modifying the surface of PCL fibers with nonfouling coatings. [85][86][87] Generally, using these techniques larger fibers (>100 µm) are produced, which may not be desired for certain tissue engineering applications since features would ideally be subcellular (<20 µm). [82] Polyesters are also favored for their inherent degradability, which occurs through acid-or base-catalyzed hydrolysis of the ester backbone.…”

High-Throughput Manufacture of 3D Fiber Scaffolds for Regenerative Medicine

“…However, these processes are not ideal for creating fibrous structures necessary to replicate several tissue types (e.g., musculoskeletal, neural) wherein the fiber organization is key to the tissue function and biomechanics. Typical strategies for creating fibrous synthetic scaffolds have focused on two broader categories of processes-electrostatic fiber formation (EFF) 22,23 and 3D printing 10,[24][25][26] -with fundamentally different fiber formation and collection principles.…”

“…4,7,9,20,22,23,27 However, creating scaffolds with complex anatomical geometries using electrospinning systems is challenging, and these systems have struggled to produce scaffolds more than 1 mm thick-many tissues are much thicker. 25 For certain polymers, the need for organic solvents in these processes also impacts the choice of starting materials and necessitates careful precleaning of scaffolds before use with cells.…”