3D electrospun fibrous structures from biopolymers

Electrospun three-dimensional (3D) fibrous biopolymers are receiving increasing attention as tissue engineering scaffolds. 3D structures could more closely resemble the stereoscopic architectures of native extracellular matrices (ECMs), and thus could provide similar guidance to signaling and migration of cells. Furthermore, fibrous structures could provide larger surface area than non-fibrous ones to facilitate cell attachment and growth. Due to the high efficiency and broad applicability, electrospinning has become the most widely accepted method in developing ultrafine fibers from biopolymers. However, since last decade, researchers started applying electrospinning technology to produce 3D ultrafine fibrous scaffolds. Via incorporating porogens or microfibrous frames, using coagulation bath as receptors, and changing electrical properties of spinning dopes, 3D fibrous structures have been developed from natural biopolymers, including proteins (collagen, gelatin, silk fibroin, zein, soyprotein, wheat gluten, etc.), polysaccharides (chitosan, alginate, hyaluronic acid, etc.), and bio-derived synthetic polymers, mainly polylactic acid