Biomimetic electrospun scaffolds for tissue engineering

During the last few years electrospinning has gain momentum as an integral part of the fast moving field of tissue engineering. Electrospinning can be used to fabricate biomimetic scaffolds for a variety of tissue engineering approaches; DNA, protein and drug delivery, cell transplantation, prevention of post‐surgical adhesions and wound dressing material. The advantages of electrospun scaffolds, nanoscale fibers, high surface‐to‐volume ratio, large porosity, and flexibility to fabricate a variety of 3D conformations, make them superior to those generated by other available techniques. As such, we have utilized electrospinning and biodegradable polyesters such as polyglycolide (PGA), Poly(L‐lactide) (PLLA) and a copolymer, poly(glycolide‐co‐lactide) (PGA‐co‐PLA) to generate various scaffolds. Particularly, we were able to functionalize the nanofibers with either DNA or drugs and show that these bioactive molecules can be safely electrospun, released in a controlled manner, maintain their intact structure and more importantly remain bioactive. We also functionalized nanofibers with bioactive collagen type I and were able to show that osteoblasts adhere and align along the fibers, migrate throughout the scaffold, proliferate and remain viable and are capable of differentiation and mineralization. Undoubtedly in the future, electrospun scaffolds will find their way into the clinic.