Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
also.been.used.to.incorporate.laccase.into.poly(d,l-lactide).(PDLLA)/PEO-PPO-PEO.(F108).
electrospun.microibers.(Dai.et.al..2010)..PEO-PPO-PEO.(F108).is.a.triblock.copolymer.that.
can.be.purchased.in.this.form..In.this.case,.the.laccase.and.polymer.solution.were.made.
into.an.emulsion.prior.to.electrospinning.so.that.laccase.could.be.immobilized.in.situ..Dai.
et. al.. decided. to. observe. how. this. construct. affected. the. degradation. of. a. crystal. violet.
dye,.which.can.bind.to.DNA..This.degradation.can.be.toxic.to.human.health.by.causing.
moderate.eye.irritation,.permanent.injury.to.the.cornea.and.conjunctiva,.and,.if.exposed.
long.term,.cancer.(Crystal.Violet.MSDS.2011)..Crystal.violet.is.a.synthetic.dye.that.is.used.
in.the.textile,.paper,.printing,.cosmetics,.and.pharmaceutical.industries.(Dai.et.al..2010)..
Thus,. exposure. is. quite. common.. The. activity. of. immobilized. laccase. was. found. to. be.
about.67%.of.that.of.free.laccase,.which.is.considerable.since.the.enzyme.was.immobilized.
and.encapsulated.
14.5 Conclusions and Perspectives
To.summarize,.we.have.presented.an.overview.of.the.extremely.versatile.electrospinning.
technique..From.this,.it.is.evident.that.electrospinning.not.only.spans.several.disciplines.
but.is.especially.useful.for.biological.applications..We.focused.on.tissue.engineering,.drug.
delivery,. and. enzyme. engineering,. since. they. are. the. major. applications. of. nanoibrous.
materials.in.the.nanobiotechnology.ield.
We. predict. that. the. use. of. electrospinning. is. only. going. to. gain. momentum. with. the.
advancement.in.nanobiotechnology..One.future.direction.we.would.like.to.see.is.a.more.
eficient. way. to. perform. sterile. electrospinning. for. biological. purposes.. Currently,. scaf-
folds.are.sterilized.by.ultraviolet.irradiation.or.ethanol.treatments.followed.by.washing.
with.sterile.water.or.buffer.solution..This.is.not.always.eficient.especially.if.the.polymer.
scaffold.is.soluble.in.water.or.is.sensitive.to.UV.light..The.most.eficient.way.would.be.to.
utilize.sterile.polymer.solutions.and.electrospin.these.solutions.in.a.sterile.tissue.culture.
hood..This.way,.there.is.no.extra.step.needed.to.ensure.that.the.scaffolds.are.sterile.and.
ready.for.cell.experimentation.
A.second.perspective.for.electrospinning.is.the.need.for.a.more.streamlined.approach.for.
embedding. biomacromolecules. and. even. cells. within. nanoibrous. constructs.. Although.
cell.seeding.allows.for.attachment.to.the.scaffolds,.the.cells.typically.remain.on.the.surface.
rather.than.embedded.within.the.nanoibers..One.of.the.advantages.of.electrospinning.is.
the. potential. for. 3D. construct. formation,. which. requires. that. the. cells. interact. with. the.
scaffold.completely.and.not.just.at.the.surface.
In.order.for.clinical.applications.to.come.to.fruition,.there.is.a.need.for.understanding.
several. factors. in. electrospinning.. These. include:. how. the. ibers. are. made,. what. they.
are.made.of,.what.surface.they.are.attaching.to,.what.surface.modiications.have.been.
done,.mechanical.and.chemical.properties,.and.much.more..With.these.understandings,.
there.will.be.better.control.of.the.electrospinning.process.and.resulting.nanoiber.prod-
ucts.. It. will. lay. a. solid. foundation. for. producing. nanoibrous. materials. in. compliance.
with.the.FDA's.current.good.manufacturing.practice.(cGMP).for.translational.research..
This.requires.not.only.a.biological.perspective.but.also.that.of.physics,.chemistry,.engi-
neering,. and. even. materials. science.. The. collaboration. between. various. disciplines. is.
essential.when.attempting.to.advance.the.transition.from.research.and.design.to.clinical.
utilization.
