Electrospinning and Tissue Engineering

We review how the process of generating scaffolds for tissue engineering using the process of electrospinning sits alongside other more established procedures for the preparation of scaffolds. We identify the key potential advantages of electrospinning for constructing scaffolds and we explore some of the remaining challenges. Several of these focus on the solvent and the desirability of using water for biological systems rather than highly volatile solvents such as those based on fluoroalcohols which lead, for example to the denaturing of collagen. We show how the control of temperature opens several opportunities as does the inclusion of additives to influence conductivity and viscosity. We show how the use of alternative electrode arrangements can lead to a control of the internal organisation with potential for property enhancement. It is reasonable to currently see electrospinning as an area dominated by experimental work but there is a growing computational element and we review how far such developments have reached and the potential for identifying new solutions for the application of electrospinning to tissue engineering.