Fabrication of nanocomposites for musculoskeletal tissue engineering

The previous sections described the different classes of biomaterials and nanoscale components that have been used to create nanocomposites. This section will elaborate on the different techniques to fabricate nanocomposites. 

Reproduced from Deng, M., Kumbar, S.G., et al., 2011a. Biomimetic structures biological implications of dipeptide-substituted polyphosphazene-polyester blend nanofiber matrices for load-bearing bone regeneration. Advanced Functional Materials 21 (14), 2641-2651. Available at http //doi.wiley.eom/10.1002/adfm.201100275 (accessed 11.12.14.). 

Reproduced from Fu, S., et al., 2012. In vivo biocompatibihty and osteogenesis of electrospun poly(e-caprolactone)-poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(e-caprolactone)/nano-hydroxyapatite composite scaffold. Biomaterials 33 (33), 8363-8371. 

Electrospun fibers have also been researched for cartilage regeneration procedures. Thorvaldsson et al. (2(X)8) used a combination of micro- and nanofibers to create novel fiber structures. This enhanced the pore structure characteristics of the fabricated scaffold. The synthesized scaffold enhanced the human chondrocyte infiltration. Nanocomposites consisting of multiwalled carbon nanombes (MWCNTs) and PLA were fabricated using electrospinning. The nanocomposite material displayed enhanced mechanical properties and improved the chondrogenesis of MSCs (Holmes et al., 2013). 

In addition, a variety of polymer composites with unique conductive and electric properties have been developed for skeletal muscle regeneration by combining polymers with metal nanoparticles (McKeon-Fischer and Freeman, 2011) and carbon nanombes (McKeon-Fischer et al., 2014). For example, McKeon-Fischer et al. (2011) has developed an electrospun scaffold through the combination of PCL with MWCNTs and a hydrogel consisting of polyvinyl alcohol and polyacrylic acid as a potential nanoactuator for skeletal muscle engineering. 

---

There are other nanocomposite materials apart from the ones mentioned in the previous sections. Table 1.1 fists a few examples of other nanocomposites employed in musculoskeletal tissue engineering. For example, carbon nanotubes have also gained a lot of interest in the fabrication of nanocomposites for musculoskeletal tissue engineering apphcations due to their unique mechanical and electrical properties (Harrison and Atala, 2007 Ahadian et al., 2014). Sitharaman et al. (2008) fabricated biodegradable... 

---