Mechanical Properties and Morphological Alterations in Fiber-Based Scaffolds Affecting Tissue Engineering Outcomes

Published

April 29, 2023

Author(s)

Carl Simon Jr., Smitha Rao, James Dolgin, Stephen Farias, Samerender Hanumantharao

Abstract

Electrospinning is a versatile tool used to produce highly customizable nonwoven nanofiber mats of various fiber diameters, pore sizes, and alignment. It is possible to create electrospun mats from synthetic polymers, biobased polymers, and combinations thereof. Post-processing of end products can occur in many ways, such as cross-linking, enzyme linking, and thermal curing, to achieve enhanced chemical and physical properties. Such multi-factor tunability is very promising in applications such as tissue engineering, 3D organs/organoids and cell differentiation. While established methods involve the use of soluble small molecules, growth factors, stereolithography, and micro-patterning, electrospinning involves an inexpensive, labor un-intensive, and highly scalable approach to using environmental cues to promote and guide cell proliferation, migration, and differentiation. By influencing cell morphology, mechanosensing, and intracellular communication, nanofibers can affect the fate of cells in a multitude of ways. Ultimately, nanofibers may have the potential to precisely form whole organs for tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and cellular agriculture, as well as to create in-vitro microenvironments. In this review, the focus will be on the mechanical and physical characteristics such as porosity, fiber diameter, crystallinity, mechanical strength, alignment and topography of the nanofiber scaffolds and the impact on cell proliferation, migration and differentiation.

Citation

(potentially a different journal, still TBD)

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

tissue engineering, scaffold, fiber

Citation

Simon Jr., C. , Rao, S. , Dolgin, J. , Farias, S. and Hanumantharao, S. (2023), Mechanical Properties and Morphological Alterations in Fiber-Based Scaffolds Affecting Tissue Engineering Outcomes, (potentially a different journal, still TBD), [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=935242 (Accessed April 27, 2024)