Capuana Elisa, Lopresti Francesco, Carfì Pavia Francesco, Brucato Valerio, La Carrubba Vincenzo
Department of Engineering, University of Palermo, RU INSTM, Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, Italy.
ATeN Center, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, Italy.
Polymers (Basel). 2021 Jun 22;13(13):2041. doi: 10.3390/polym13132041.
The fabrication of 3D scaffolds is under wide investigation in tissue engineering (TE) because of its incessant development of new advanced technologies and the improvement of traditional processes. Currently, scientific and clinical research focuses on scaffold characterization to restore the function of missing or damaged tissues. A key for suitable scaffold production is the guarantee of an interconnected porous structure that allows the cells to grow as in native tissue. The fabrication techniques should meet the appropriate requirements, including feasible reproducibility and time- and cost-effective assets. This is necessary for easy processability, which is associated with the large range of biomaterials supporting the use of fabrication technologies. This paper presents a review of scaffold fabrication methods starting from polymer solutions that provide highly porous structures under controlled process parameters. In this review, general information of solution-based technologies, including freeze-drying, thermally or diffusion induced phase separation (TIPS or DIPS), and electrospinning, are presented, along with an overview of their technological strategies and applications. Furthermore, the differences in the fabricated constructs in terms of pore size and distribution, porosity, morphology, and mechanical and biological properties, are clarified and critically reviewed. Then, the combination of these techniques for obtaining scaffolds is described, offering the advantages of mimicking the unique architecture of tissues and organs that are intrinsically difficult to design.
由于新技术的不断发展以及传统工艺的改进,3D支架的制造在组织工程(TE)领域受到广泛研究。目前,科学和临床研究聚焦于支架表征,以恢复缺失或受损组织的功能。合适的支架生产的一个关键是确保具有相互连通的多孔结构,使细胞能够像在天然组织中一样生长。制造技术应满足适当的要求,包括可行的可重复性以及具有时间和成本效益的资产。这对于易于加工性是必要的,而易于加工性与支持使用制造技术的大量生物材料相关。本文对从聚合物溶液开始的支架制造方法进行了综述,聚合物溶液在可控工艺参数下可提供高度多孔的结构。在本综述中,介绍了基于溶液的技术的一般信息,包括冷冻干燥、热诱导或扩散诱导相分离(TIPS或DIPS)以及静电纺丝,并概述了它们的技术策略和应用。此外,还阐明并批判性地综述了在制造的构建体在孔径和分布、孔隙率、形态以及力学和生物学性能方面的差异。然后,描述了这些技术用于获得支架的组合,其优点是能够模仿本质上难以设计的组织和器官的独特结构。