Methods to Characterize Electrospun Scaffold Morphology: A Critical Review

Abstract

Electrospun scaffolds can imitate the hierarchical structures present in the extracellular matrix, representing one of the main concerns of modern tissue engineering. They are characterized in order to evaluate their capability to support cells or to provide guidelines for reproducibility. The issues with widely used methods for morphological characterization are discussed in order to provide insight into a desirable methodology for electrospun scaffold characterization. Reported methods include imaging and physical measurements. Characterization methods harbor inherent limitations and benefits, and these are discussed and presented in a comprehensive selection matrix to provide researchers with the adequate tools and insights required to characterize their electrospun scaffolds. It is shown that imaging methods present the most benefits, with drawbacks being limited to required costs and expertise. By making use of more appropriate characterization, researchers will avoid measurements that do not represent their scaffolds and perhaps might discover that they can extract more characteristics from their scaffold at no further cost.

Self-Assembly of Ultrafine Fibers with Micropores via Cryogenic Electrospinning and Its Potential Application in Esophagus Repair

“…Esophageal epithelial cells proliferate massively on the e-spun membrane, and the cells are closely arranged, displaying excellent cell viability. These results prove the promising potential applications for esophageal repair [21].…”

Three-Dimensional Collagen Topology Shapes Cell Morphology, beyond Stiffness

“…Importantly, the diameters of collagen fibers were in the range 72–215 nm, with the electrospun scaffold exhibiting the smallest dimensions. This is particularly relevant given that the in vivo ECM contains fiber diameters ranging from 50 to 500 nm …”

“…This is particularly relevant given that the in vivo ECM contains fiber diameters ranging from 50 to 500 nm. 52 Laminin and collagen IV/laminin were then deposited on top of the fibrillar networks showing the formation of a homogeneous film under SEM (Figures S3−S5). Further advanced characterization was done in hydrated biocompatible conditions using multiphoton microscopy (see the next section).…”

Electrospun hybrid nanofibers: Fabrication, characterization, and biomedical applications

“…Based on the mentioned reasons, atomic force microscopy (AFM) or transmission electron microscopy (TEM) Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology frontiersin.org are better options for determining the morphology of nanofibers, especially tiny fibers (Ramakrishna, 2005). AFM provides information about the surface of the nanofiber's topographical, morphological, mechanical, and physicochemical properties (Lopez Marquez et al, 2022). It has been reported that scaffold stiffness can modulate cell function and remodeling (Zhu et al, 2019;Yi et al, 2022).…”

“…Single fiber characterization provides fundamental data for understanding the relationship between nanofiber’s structure and properties. Also, depending on their ultimate utilization, various methods have been developed to characterize nanofiber scaffolds ( Lopez Marquez et al, 2022 ). For example, electrical conductivity and electrochemical reactivity are necessary when nanofibers are intended to be used as sensors ( Liu et al, 2019 ).…”