Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 12
Shanta Raj Bhattarai,
a
Madhab Prasad Bajgai,
b
and Hak Yong Kim
c*
a
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wayne State University, MI, USA
Department of
b
Bionanosystem and
c
Textile Engineering,
Chonbuk National University, Jeonju, South Korea
*khy@chonbuk.ac.kr
Electrospinning is a novel method of producing and assembling
nano-scalefibersintothree-dimensional(3D)scaffoldsthatmimic
the structure and biochemical environment of human body's tis-
sues. Scaffolds can be fabricated from both natural and syn-
thetic polymers and can even be manufactured into different
sizes and shapes, including tubes, matrices, and coatings, among
others. Fibers comprising scaffolds can be tuned or custom-
engineered to a specific orientation (parallel/perpendicular) or
thickness, including on the nanometer scale (a thousand times
thinner than a human hair). What results from these capabili-
ties is an implantable scaffold with the correct fiber diameter,
orientation,andarchitecture, rendered virtually indistinguishable
from native tissue and recognized as “self” by the body. However,
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