Biomimetic Nanofi brous Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Engineering Applications - Biomimetics: Advancing Nanobiomaterials and Tissue Engineering - page 68

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Biomimetic Nanofi brous Scaffolds for
Bone Tissue Engineering Applications

Robert J. Kane 1 and Peter X. Ma 2, *

1 Department of Biologic and Materials Sciences, University of Michigan,
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
2 Richard H. Kingery Endowed Collegiate Professor, Department
of Biologic and Materials Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor,
Michigan, USA

Abstract
Numerous scaffold designs for bone tissue engineering have been developed,
but to date there is no tissue scaffold available that meets all the requirements of
an ideal scaffold material. Recent advances in materials processing and design
have led to the development of several types of tissue engineering scaffolds with
nanometer scale fi bers exposed on the scaffold surface, which may improve the
biological properties of these materials. The major methods of fabricating nanofi -
brous scaffolds are described, and the potential utility for bone tissue engineering
applications is discussed. In general nanofi brous scaffolds induce more natural
cellular behavior, and there is data that suggests they lead to more rapid healing
compared to smooth-walled scaffold designs of the same material. Further refi ne-
ments in processing techniques to better control pore size, interconnection, and
fi ber diameter and orientation should lead to even more effective scaffold designs.

Keywords: Biomimetic, nanofi brous, peptide amphiphile, electrospinning, ther-
mally induced phase separation, tissue engineering, bone, scaffold

4.1 Bone Tissue Engineering and Scaffold Design

The ultimate goal of tissue engineering is the regeneration of poorly func-
tioning, diseased, or otherwise missing tissue. A tissue engineering (TE)
system is composed of one or more of the following elements—a scaffold
providing three-dimensional support and spatial guidance, a population