Highly porous 3D nanofibrous scaffolds processed with an electrospinning/laser process

• Published in: Current applied physics 2014, 14(1), , pp.1-7
• Main Authors: Kim, Min Seong, Son, JoonGon, Lee, HyeongJin, Hwang, Heon, Choi, Chang Hyun, Kim, GeunHyung
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biological; Biomaterial; Electrospinning; Fibers; Fibres; Laser process; Lasers; Nanofiber; Nanostructure; Scaffolds; Three dimensional; 물리학
• ISSN: 1567-1739; 1878-1675
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cap.2013.10.008

Electrospinning has been widely used to produce micro/nanosized fibres. Although the method is very simple, easy, and effective for obtaining nanosized material, the fabrication of three dimensional (3D) shapes comprised of micro/nanofibres has been a major obstacle for use in tissue engineering. In this study, a new electrospinning method to fabricate controllable 3D micro/nanofibrous structure (with thickness over 3 mm) is suggested. The fabricated 3D fibrous structure was fully porous and successfully consisted of submicron-sized fibres. However, the pores in the 3D fibrous structure were too small (5–10 μm), so we used a femtosecond laser process to achieve enough cell infiltration and proliferation in the thickness direction of the 3D structure. By controlling appropriate processing conditions, we can successfully fabricate a highly porous 3D micro/nanofibrous structure with various pore sizes ranging from 189 ± 28 μm to 380 ± 21 μm. The fabricated 3D fibrous scaffolds were assessed for in vitro biological capabilities by culturing osteoblast like cells (MG63). Compared with the rapid-prototyped PCL scaffold, the 3D fibrous scaffold exhibited significantly higher biological activities (initial cell attachment and cell proliferation) due to the topographical structure of micro/nanofibres. •A new method for fabricating highly porous 3D nanofibrous scaffold was proposed.•The process was consisted of an electrospinning process and a femtosecond laser process.•The 3D fibrous scaffold exhibited significant biological activities.