Tunable Spun Fiber Constructs in Biomedicine: Influence of Processing Parameters in the Fibers' Architecture.

Catarina S Miranda,Natália C Homem,Helena P Felgueiras,Ana Francisca G Silva,Sílvia M M A Pereira-Lima,Susana P G Costa

doi:10.3390/pharmaceutics14010164

Catarina S Miranda, Natália C Homem + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics14010164

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Journal: Pharmaceutics	Publication Date: Jan 11, 2022
Citations: 27	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: University of Minho

Abstract

Electrospinning and wet-spinning have been recognized as two of the most efficient and promising techniques for producing polymeric fibrous constructs for a wide range of applications, including optics, electronics, food industry and biomedical applications. They have gained considerable attention in the past few decades because of their unique features and tunable architectures that can mimic desirable biological features, responding more effectively to local demands. In this review, various fiber architectures and configurations, varying from monolayer and core-shell fibers to tri-axial, porous, multilayer, side-by-side and helical fibers, are discussed, highlighting the influence of processing parameters in the final constructs. Additionally, the envisaged biomedical purposes for the examined fiber architectures, mainly focused on drug delivery and tissue engineering applications, are explored at great length.

Highlights

In recent years, micro- and nanofibers have emerged as promising tools for biomedical applications for displaying advantageous features, including large surface area, high porosity, and tunable structure, functionality, mechanical performance [1]
The principles of electrospinning and wet-spinning are here emphasized; contrary to previous reviews that focused on uniaxial fibers, special attention is given to complex architectures and their main applications in drug delivery and tissue engineering fields
By controlling the solution and processing parameters, such as fiber body size, mass and content, fibers with active surface properties can be generated with impactful architectures in content, fibers with active surface properties can be generated with impactful architectures nanofluidics, drug delivery, nano-supports, energy storage units, gas sensors, etc. [26,69]

Summary

Introduction

Micro- and nanofibers have emerged as promising tools for biomedical applications for displaying advantageous features, including large surface area, high porosity, and tunable structure, functionality, mechanical performance [1]. Just as the previous techniques, this too presents limitations, related to the type of polymers that can be used and the need for specialized coagulation baths that may raise the cost of production Another technique that shares many of the wet-spinning principles is the dry-spinning approach. It is a frequent choice to extrude polymers vulnerable to thermal degradation [17] Among these approaches, electrospinning and wet-spinning are the ones considered most relevant for biomedical uses, for drug delivery systems, since they allow to control fiber production in such a way that complex fiber structures with different organizations and architectures can be attained: (1) side-by-side fibers [18,19], (2) porous [20],. The principles of electrospinning and wet-spinning are here emphasized; contrary to previous reviews that focused on uniaxial fibers, special attention is given to complex architectures and their main applications in drug delivery and tissue engineering fields. These fiber constructs are gaining more attention each day and, we are here exposing the reasons behind their selection

Principle and Setup