Polymeric Scaffolds in Tissue Engineering Application: A Review

Current strategies of regenerative medicine are focused on the restoration of pathologically altered tissue architectures by transplantation of cells in combination with supportive scaffolds and biomolecules. In recent years, considerable interest has been given to biologically active scaffolds which are based on similar analogs of the extracellular matrix that have induced synthesis of tissues and organs. To restore function or regenerate tissue, a scaffold is necessary that will act as a temporary matrix for cell proliferation and extracellular matrix deposition, with subsequent ingrowth until the tissues are totally restored or regenerated. Scaffolds have been used for tissue engineering such as bone, cartilage, ligament, skin, vascular tissues, neural tissues, and skeletal muscle and as vehicle for the controlled delivery of drugs, proteins, and DNA. Various technologies come together to construct porous scaffolds to regenerate the tissues/organs and also for controlled and targeted release of bioactive agents in tissue engineering applications. In this paper, an overview of the different types of scaffolds with their material properties is discussed. The fabrication technologies for tissue engineering scaffolds, including the basic and conventional techniques to the more recent ones, are tabulated

Evaluation of Antithrombogenicity and Hydrophilicity on Zein-SWCNT Electrospun Fibrous Nanocomposite Scaffolds

Design of blood compatible surfaces is required to minimize platelet surface interactions and increase the thromboresistance of foreign surfaces when they are used as biomaterials especially for artificial blood prostheses. In this study, single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and Zein fibrous nanocomposite scaffolds were fabricated by electrospinning and evaluated its antithrombogenicity and hydrophilicity. The uniform and highly smooth nanofibers of Zein composited with different SWCNTs content (ranging from 0.2 wt% to 1 wt%) were successfully prepared by electrospinning method without the occurrence of bead defects. The resulting fiber diameters were in the range of 100–300 nm without any beads. Composite nanofibers with and without SWCNT were characterized through a variety of methods including scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and tensile mechanical testing. The water uptake and retention ability of composite scaffolds decreased whereas thermal stability increased with an addition of SWCNTs. Hemolytic property and platelet adhesion ability of the nanocomposite (Zein-SWCNTs) were explored. These observations suggest that the novel Zein-SWCNTs composite scaffolds may possibly hold great promises as useful antithrombotic material and promising biomaterials for tissue engineering application