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Putting Electrospun Nanofibers to Work for Biomedical Research
Author(s) -
Xie Jingwei,
Li Xiaoran,
Xia Younan
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
macromolecular rapid communications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.348
H-Index - 154
eISSN - 1521-3927
pISSN - 1022-1336
DOI - 10.1002/marc.200800381
Subject(s) - nanofiber , electrospinning , materials science , nanotechnology , scaffold , extracellular matrix , tissue engineering , polymer , drug delivery , porosity , stacking , surface modification , chemical engineering , composite material , computer science , chemistry , biomedical engineering , database , medicine , biochemistry , organic chemistry , engineering
Abstract Electrospinning has been exploited for almost one century to process polymers and related materials into nanofibers with controllable compositions, diameters, porosities, and porous structures for a variety of applications. Owing to its high porosity and large surface area, a non‐woven mat of electrospun nanofibers can serve as an ideal scaffold to mimic the extracellular matrix for cell attachment and nutrient transportation. The nanofiber itself can also be functionalized through encapsulation or attachment of bioactive species such as extracellular matrix proteins, enzymes, and growth factors. In addition, the nanofibers can be further assembled into a variety of arrays or architectures by manipulating their alignment, stacking, or folding. All these attributes make electrospinning a powerful tool for generating nanostructured materials for a range of biomedical applications that include controlled release, drug delivery, and tissue engineering.