Potential of Electrospun Nanofibers for Biomedical and Dental Applications.

Sana Zohaib,Muhammad Zafar,Zohaib Khurshid,Masoud Vazirzadeh,Bilal Najeeb,Shariq Najeeb,Farshid Sefat

doi:10.3390/ma9020073

Abstract

Electrospinning is a versatile technique that has gained popularity for various biomedical applications in recent years. Electrospinning is being used for fabricating nanofibers for various biomedical and dental applications such as tooth regeneration, wound healing and prevention of dental caries. Electrospun materials have the benefits of unique properties for instance, high surface area to volume ratio, enhanced cellular interactions, protein absorption to facilitate binding sites for cell receptors. Extensive research has been conducted to explore the potential of electrospun nanofibers for repair and regeneration of various dental and oral tissues including dental pulp, dentin, periodontal tissues, oral mucosa and skeletal tissues. However, there are a few limitations of electrospinning hindering the progress of these materials to practical or clinical applications. In terms of biomaterials aspects, the better understanding of controlled fabrication, properties and functioning of electrospun materials is required to overcome the limitations. More in vivo studies are definitely required to evaluate the biocompatibility of electrospun scaffolds. Furthermore, mechanical properties of such scaffolds should be enhanced so that they resist mechanical stresses during tissue regeneration applications. The objective of this article is to review the current progress of electrospun nanofibers for biomedical and dental applications. In addition, various aspects of electrospun materials in relation to potential dental applications have been discussed.

Highlights

Nanofibers remain an important division of biomaterials due to a wide range of biomedical applications [1]
Zong and coworkers [45] explored the effects of adding salts to poly-DL-lactic acid (PDLLA) solutions and electrospun smooth, bead-free and fine diameter nanofibers
The major application of electrospun materials remain for tissue engineering and regeneration of oral and dental tissues

Summary

Introduction

Nanofibers remain an important division of biomaterials due to a wide range of biomedical applications [1]. Nanofibers can facilitate packing of maximum volume fraction by controlling fibers alignment and orientation improving the material strength [2] The material properties such as surface morphology, porosity and geometry can be tailored or functionalized for certain applications, for example, bioactive agents for biomedical applications [4]. Electrospinning can be used for fabricating polymer composite fibers by blending additives such as particles, antimicrobials or enzymes to get the desired properties [20]. Considering these benefits, electrospinning has gained a remarkable popularity for various disciplines projecting a sharp rise in scientific publications in recent years (Table 1). Search was carried on using the keywords “electrospinning” and “oral dental electrospinning” in topic and title search options of ISI Web of Knowledge database for particular publication years

Basic Principle and Technique

Schematic

Factors

Solution Related Parameters

Polymer Concentration

Processing Conditions

Effect of Voltage

Volumetric

Effect of Conductivity

Effects of Solvent

Physical Properties

Mechanical Properties