Tian Lingling, Ma Jingyun, Li Wei, Zhang Xu, Gao Xinghua
Materials Genome Institute, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200444, P. R. China.
Ningbo Institute of Innovation for Combined Medicine and Engineering, Ningbo Medical Center Li Huili Hospital, 57 Xingning Road, Ningbo, Zhejiang, 315100, P. R. China.
Macromol Biosci. 2023 Mar;23(3):e2200429. doi: 10.1002/mabi.202200429. Epub 2023 Jan 4.
Microfibers, a type of long, thin, and flexible material, can be assembled into functional 3D structures by folding, binding, and weaving. As a novel spinning method, combining microfluidic technology and wet spinning, microfluidic spinning technology can precisely control the size, morphology, structure, and composition of the microfibers. Particularly, the process is mild and rapid, which is suitable for preparing microfibers using biocompatible materials and without affecting the viability of cells encapsulated. Furthermore, owing to the controllability of microfluidic spinning, microfibers with well-defined structures (such as hollow structures) will contribute to the exchange of nutrients or guide cell orientation. Thus, this method is often used to fabricate microfibers as cell scaffolds for cell encapsulation or adhesion and can be further applied to biomimetic fibrous tissues. In this review, the focus is on different fiber structures prepared by microfluidic spinning technology, including solid, hollow, and heterogeneous structures, generated from three essential elements: spinning platform, fiber composition, and solidification methods. Furthermore, the application of microfibers is described with different structures in tissue engineering, such as blood vessels, skeletal muscle, bone, nerves, and lung bronchi. Finally, the challenges and future development prospects of microfluidic spinning technology in tissue engineering applications are discussed.
微纤维是一种长、细且柔韧的材料，可通过折叠、捆绑和编织组装成功能性三维结构。作为一种新型纺丝方法，将微流控技术与湿法纺丝相结合，微流控纺丝技术能够精确控制微纤维的尺寸、形态、结构和组成。特别是，该过程温和且快速，适合使用生物相容性材料制备微纤维，且不会影响封装细胞的活力。此外，由于微流控纺丝的可控性，具有明确结构（如中空结构）的微纤维将有助于营养物质的交换或引导细胞定向。因此，该方法常用于制造作为细胞支架的微纤维，用于细胞封装或黏附，并可进一步应用于仿生纤维组织。在这篇综述中，重点关注通过微流控纺丝技术制备的不同纤维结构，包括由纺丝平台、纤维组成和固化方法这三个基本要素产生的实心、中空和异质结构。此外，还描述了具有不同结构的微纤维在组织工程中的应用，如血管、骨骼肌、骨骼、神经和肺支气管。最后，讨论了微流控纺丝技术在组织工程应用中的挑战和未来发展前景。
