title: Highly moldable electrospun clay-like fluffy nanofibers for three-dimensional scaffolds.
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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Yonsei University , 134 Shinchon-dong, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Slgirim
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Sunghwan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Minhee
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Gyuhyung
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Unyong
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.forename: Jae-Hyung
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Jang
mesh_terms: D000538:Aluminum Silicates / Q000737:chemistry*; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D000077215:Clay; D005109:Extracellular Matrix; D006801:Humans; D057139:Nanofibers / Q000737:chemistry*; D011091:Polyesters / Q000737:chemistry*; D011108:Polymers; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000538:Aluminum Silicates; D011091:Polyesters; D011108:Polymers; C016240:polycaprolactone; D000077215:Clay