Scaffold fabrication techniques electrospinning

Scaffolds can be fabricated by using different types of methodologies such as fiber bonding, salt leaching, gas-induced foaming, phase separation, electrospinning, solid freeform fabrication, and molecular self assembly [15, 17]. Some of the fabrication techniques are discussed below. 

Highly porous chitosan-gelatin scaffolds by combining three different fabrication techniques, i.e., rapid prototyping, microreplication, and freeze-drying Natural nanofibrous scaffolds by electrospinning of GC into nanofibers... 

As an alternative approach to blending, natural and synthetic polymers can be combined in fibrous scaffolds fabricated by core—shell techniques. Chen et al. (2010) prepared nanofibrous scaffolds by core—shell electrospinning based on a commercial thermoplastic PUR and collagen as the fibre core and shell, respectively. The collagen shell was cross-linked by glutaraldehyde vapours. The electrospun mats showed an intermediate mechanical behaviour as compared to the pure component electrospun membranes moreover, the core—shell electrospun membranes were found to support in vitro adhesion and proliferation of pig iliac endothelial cells. 

Electrospinning technique has proved to be efficient in nanofibers production for diverse applications such as biomedical applications, liquid crystal devices, nanofiltration, etc. However, it has been very promising technique for tissue engineered scaffolds fabrication. This reiterates the fact that through this technique, it is possible to fabricate scaffolds by resembling the namral ECM inside human body. The features of electrospun nanofibers can be manipulated so that (i) the dimensions of nanofibers could resemble the namral tissue fibers dimensions in the body and (ii) the scaffolds porosity could be manipulated to mimic that of the namral tissues inside the body. High porosity is mandatory in scaffolds for better fluid perfusion and cell proliferation. 

Besides traditional 3-D scaffolds fabrication methods, electrospinning and molecular self-assembly are newly developed techniques to construct biomimetic polymer scaffolds. Scaffolds fabricated by those techniques are mainly used in four tissue engineering areas skin, cartilage, blood vessel, and nerve. 

This chapter will discuss electrospinning as a promising fabrication technique for scaffolding, current applications of electrospun scaffolds for cartilage tissue engineering, as well as limitations with the use of such scaffolds for translational applications. 

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