Advanced fabrication for electrospun three-dimensional nanofiber aerogels and scaffolds

• Published in: Bioactive materials Vol. 5; no. 4; pp. 963 - 979
• Main Authors: Chen, Yujie, Shafiq, Muhammad, Liu, Mingyue, Morsi, Yosry, Mo, Xiumei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: China Elsevier B.V 01.12.2020; KeAi Publishing; KeAi Communications Co., Ltd
• Subjects: Aerogels; Electrospun nanofibers; Three-dimensional scaffolds; Tissue engineering; Aerogels; Electrospun nanofibers; Tissue engineering; Three-dimensional scaffolds
• ISSN: 2452-199X; 2452-199X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bioactmat.2020.06.023

Electrospinning is a versatile strategy for creating nanofiber materials with various structures, which has broad application for a myriad of areas ranging from tissue engineering, energy harvesting, filtration and has become one of the most important academic and technical activities in the field of material science in recent years. In addition to playing a significant role in the construction of two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials, electrospinning holds great promise as a robust method for producing three-dimensional (3D) aerogels and scaffolds. This article reviews and summarizes the recent advanced methods for fabricating electrospun three-dimensional nanofiber aerogels and scaffolds, including gas foaming, direct electrospinning of 3D nanofibrous scaffold, short nanofibers assembling into 3D aerogels/scaffolds, 3D printing, electrospray, origami and cell sheet engineering, centrifugal electrospinning, and other methods. Besides, intriguing formation process, crosslinking pathway, properties, and applications of 3D aerogels and scaffolds are also introduced. Taken together, these aerogels and scaffolds with various excellent features present tremendous potential in various fields. [Display omitted] •Advanced fabricated methods and properties of three-dimensional(3D) nanofiber aerogels and scaffolds are summarized.•The existing problems and limitations of the 3D nanofiber aerogels and scaffolds are discussed.•The comparison among 3D electrospun scaffolds and aerogels fabrication technologies are discussed.•Prospects and challenges of 3D electrospun scaffolds and aerogels are proposed.