ABSTRACT
The electrospinning of collagen produces scaffolds that closely mimic the high porosity and surface area of the extracellular matrix (ECM) found in tissues, and thus presents great potential in the fabrication of 3D constructs for tissue engineering and wound healing. The nanofibrous structures that are achievable with electrospinning show specific benefits in the medical field. The electrospinning of collagen and its derivatives is particularly important as collagen is the most abundant protein present in animals and it functions to support cell growth within the ECM. However, the previous decade has seen unsettling discoveries that when electrospinning collagen membranes, many of the traditionally accepted methods for the fabrication and stabilization have either resulted in the denaturation of the collagen, or cytotoxic effects to surrounding tissues upon implantation and unsuitable mechanically weak properties. In addition, the efficacy of collagen fiber membranes has been shown to be greatly reduced by the use of fluorocarbon solvents, and glutaraldehyde, lowering the confidence in collagen for use in medically relevant settings.
Collagen electrospun membranes as a biomaterial have been shown to be extremely useful when interacting with cellular systems, and with slight modification, the increased control gained from modern electrospinning setups has shown that collagen has many desirable qualities which current synthetic polymers are unable to mimic. Here we explore the background debate over the native qualities of collagen and how electrospinning research is attempting to remedy these issues with alternative solvent systems, novel cross-linkers, composites and improved control, to directly benefit individual cell types.
