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Electrospun Composite Nanofibrous Scaffolds for Therapeutic Delivery and Tissue Engineering

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2022) | Viewed by 7572

Special Issue Editors

Department of Nanobiomedical Science, Institute of Tissue Regeneration Engineering (ITREN), Dankook University, Cheonan-si, Republic of Korea
Interests: nanomaterials; electrospinning; drug delivery; metallic implants; tissue engineering and theranostics
Department of Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294-0012, USA
Interests: self-assembled nanomaterials; electrospinning; drug delivery; tissue engineering; photothermal therapy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Last few decades, electrospinning techniques have gain tremendous attention in regenerative medicine. Electrospinning technique is a simple, versatile and cost-effectiveness method to produce either aligned or random fibers from few nanometers to micrometers diameters. This method has been used to fabricate not only polymers (natural/synthetic/semisynthetic) but also for composite and ceramic micro-/nanofibers. Based on the characteristics of the produced fibers, they have been utilized for various application including therapeutic delivery and tissue engineering. Recently, the advancement in electrospinning technique has endowed to produced unique fibrous scaffolds for various tissue engineering such as bone, cartilage, muscle, and nerve. Thus, we invite the researcher to communicate the research articles, review papers and communications with broad applications in regenerative medicine.

Dr. Kapil Patel
Dr. Dong-jin Lim
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • Electrospinning
  • Nanofibers
  • Therapeutics
  • Tissue Engineering
  • Regenerative Medicine

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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24 pages, 3902 KiB  
Article
Novel Electroactive Mineralized Polyacrylonitrile/PEDOT:PSS Electrospun Nanofibers for Bone Repair Applications
by Frederico Barbosa, Fábio F. F. Garrudo, Ana C. Marques, Joaquim M. S. Cabral, Jorge Morgado, Frederico Castelo Ferreira and João C. Silva
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(17), 13203; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms241713203 - 25 Aug 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1119
Abstract
Bone defect repair remains a critical challenge in current orthopedic clinical practice, as the available therapeutic strategies only offer suboptimal outcomes. Therefore, bone tissue engineering (BTE) approaches, involving the development of biomimetic implantable scaffolds combined with osteoprogenitor cells and native-like physical stimuli, are [...] Read more.
Bone defect repair remains a critical challenge in current orthopedic clinical practice, as the available therapeutic strategies only offer suboptimal outcomes. Therefore, bone tissue engineering (BTE) approaches, involving the development of biomimetic implantable scaffolds combined with osteoprogenitor cells and native-like physical stimuli, are gaining widespread interest. Electrical stimulation (ES)-based therapies have been found to actively promote bone growth and osteogenesis in both in vivo and in vitro settings. Thus, the combination of electroactive scaffolds comprising conductive biomaterials and ES holds significant promise in improving the effectiveness of BTE for clinical applications. The aim of this study was to develop electroconductive polyacrylonitrile/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PAN/PEDOT:PSS) nanofibers via electrospinning, which are capable of emulating the native tissue’s fibrous extracellular matrix (ECM) and providing a platform for the delivery of exogenous ES. The resulting nanofibers were successfully functionalized with apatite-like structures to mimic the inorganic phase of the bone ECM. The conductive electrospun scaffolds presented nanoscale fiber diameters akin to those of collagen fibrils and displayed bone-like conductivity. PEDOT:PSS incorporation was shown to significantly promote scaffold mineralization in vitro. The mineralized electroconductive nanofibers demonstrated improved biological performance as observed by the significantly enhanced proliferation of both human osteoblast-like MG-63 cells and human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (hBM-MSCs). Moreover, mineralized PAN/PEDOT:PSS nanofibers up-regulated bone marker genes expression levels of hBM-MSCs undergoing osteogenic differentiation, highlighting their potential as electroactive biomimetic BTE scaffolds for innovative bone defect repair strategies. Full article
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14 pages, 7763 KiB  
Article
Graphene Oxide/RhPTH(1-34)/Polylactide Composite Nanofibrous Scaffold for Bone Tissue Engineering
by Fan Fei, Haiyan Yao, Yujiang Wang and Junchao Wei
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(6), 5799; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms24065799 - 18 Mar 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1089
Abstract
Polylactide (PLA) is one of the most promising polymers that has been widely used for the repair of damaged tissues due to its biocompatibility and biodegradability. PLA composites with multiple properties, such as mechanical properties and osteogenesis, have been widely investigated. Herein, PLA/graphene [...] Read more.
Polylactide (PLA) is one of the most promising polymers that has been widely used for the repair of damaged tissues due to its biocompatibility and biodegradability. PLA composites with multiple properties, such as mechanical properties and osteogenesis, have been widely investigated. Herein, PLA/graphene oxide (GO)/parathyroid hormone (rhPTH(1-34)) nanofiber membranes were prepared using a solution electrospinning method. The tensile strength of the PLA/GO/rhPTH(1-34) membranes was 2.64 MPa, nearly 110% higher than that of a pure PLA sample (1.26 MPa). The biocompatibility and osteogenic differentiation test demonstrated that the addition of GO did not markedly affect the biocompatibility of PLA, and the alkaline phosphatase activity of PLA/GO/rhPTH(1-34) membranes was about 2.3-times that of PLA. These results imply that the PLA/GO/rhPTH(1-34) composite membrane may be a candidate material for bone tissue engineering. Full article
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16 pages, 3697 KiB  
Article
Preparation and Characterization of Nanofibrous Membranes Electro-Spun from Blended Poly(l-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) and Recombinant Spider Silk Protein as Potential Skin Regeneration Scaffold
by Suyang Wang, Hongnian Zhu and Qing Meng
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(22), 14055; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms232214055 - 14 Nov 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1360
Abstract
Biomaterial scaffolding serves as an important strategy in skin tissue engineering. In this research, recombinant spider silk protein (RSSP) and poly(L-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) (PLCL) were blended in different ratios to fabricate nanofibrous membranes as potential skin regeneration scaffolds with an electro-spinning process. Scanning electron microscopy [...] Read more.
Biomaterial scaffolding serves as an important strategy in skin tissue engineering. In this research, recombinant spider silk protein (RSSP) and poly(L-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) (PLCL) were blended in different ratios to fabricate nanofibrous membranes as potential skin regeneration scaffolds with an electro-spinning process. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), water contact angles measurement, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), tensile mechanical tests and thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) were carried out to characterize the nanofibrous membranes. The results showed that the blending of RSSP greatly decreased the nanofibers’ average diameter, enhanced the hydrophilicity, changed the microstructure and thermal properties, and could enable tailored mechanical properties of the nanofibrous membranes. Among the blended membranes, the PLCL/RSSP (75/25) membrane was chosen for further investigation on biocompatibility. The results of hemolysis assays and for proliferation of human foreskin fibroblast cells (hFFCs) confirmed the membranes potential use as skin-regeneration scaffolds. Subsequent culture of mouse embryonic fibroblast cells (NIH-3T3) demonstrated the feasibility of the blended membranes as a human epidermal growth factor (hEGF) delivery matrix. The PLCL/RSSP (75/25) membrane possessed good properties comparable to those of human skin with high biocompatibility and the ability of hEGF delivery. Further studies can be carried out on such membranes with chemical or genetic modifications to make better scaffolds for skin regeneration. Full article
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Review

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15 pages, 1720 KiB  
Review
Cross-Linking Agents for Electrospinning-Based Bone Tissue Engineering
by Dong-Jin Lim
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(10), 5444; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms23105444 - 13 May 2022
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3255
Abstract
Electrospun nanofibers are promising bone tissue scaffolds that support bone healing due to the body’s structural similarity to the extracellular matrix (ECM). However, the insufficient mechanical properties often limit their potential in bone tissue regeneration. Cross-linking agents that chemically interconnect as-spun electrospun nanofibers [...] Read more.
Electrospun nanofibers are promising bone tissue scaffolds that support bone healing due to the body’s structural similarity to the extracellular matrix (ECM). However, the insufficient mechanical properties often limit their potential in bone tissue regeneration. Cross-linking agents that chemically interconnect as-spun electrospun nanofibers are a simple but effective strategy for improving electrospun nanofibers’ mechanical, biological, and degradation properties. To improve the mechanical characteristic of the nanofibrous bone scaffolds, two of the most common types of cross-linking agents are used to chemically crosslink electrospun nanofibers: synthetic and natural. Glutaraldehyde (GTA) is a typical synthetic agent for electrospun nanofibers, while genipin (GP) is a natural cross-linking agent isolated from gardenia fruit extracts. GP has gradually gained attention since GP has superior biocompatibility to synthetic ones. In recent studies, much more progress has been made in utilizing crosslinking strategies, including citric acid (CA), a natural cross-linking agent. This review summarizes both cross-linking agents commonly used to improve electrospun-based scaffolds in bone tissue engineering, explains recent progress, and attempts to expand the potential of this straightforward method for electrospinning-based bone tissue engineering. Full article
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