Highly
Moldable Electrospun Clay-Like Fluffy Nanofibers for Three-Dimensional
Scaffolds
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Abstract
The development of three-dimensional
polymeric systems capable of mimicking the extracellular matrix is
critical for advancing tissue engineering. To achieve these objectives,
three-dimensional fibrous scaffolds with “clay”-like
properties were successfully developed by coaxially electrospinning
polystyrene (PS) and poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and selective
leaching. As PS is known to be nonbiodegradable and vulnerable to
mechanical stress, PS layers present at the outer surface were removed
using a “selective leaching” process. The fibrous PCL
scaffolds that remained after the leaching step exhibited highly advantageous
characteristics as a tissue engineering scaffold, including moldability
(i.e., clay-like), flexibility, and three-dimensional structure (i.e.,
cotton-like). More so, the “clay-like” PCL fibrous scaffolds
could be shaped into any desired form, and the microenvironment within
the clay scaffolds was highly favorable for cell expansion both in
vitro and in vivo. These “electrospun-clay” scaffolds
overcome the current limitations of conventional electrospun, sheet-like
scaffolds, which are structurally inflexible. Therefore, this work
extends the scope of electrospun fibrous scaffolds toward a variety
of tissue engineering applications