Electrospun Nanofibers for Drug Delivery in Regenerative Medicine
Résumé
Inherent physical properties such as high surface area and extracellular matrix mimicking structure of electrospun fibers are advantageous for loading the drug/biomolecule. Also, controlling the release of therapeutic molecule is crucial to achieve high therapeutic effect. Carefully engineering the experimental conditions allows fabrication of drug delivery carriers that display prolonged release of drugs/biomolecules for long-term application. Feasibility of loading lipophilic and hydrophilic drugs/biomolecules together in single three-dimensional (3D) fibrous construct is reviewed. Effects of polymer wettability, sheath thickness, and polymer degradability on therapeutic molecule delivery are also discussed. This chapter also discuss the different electrospinning techniques used to prepare 3D construct that bears multinutrients or growth factor or drugs that are essential for enhanced cell proliferation adhesion and differentiation. Influence of polymer hydrophobicity, hydrophilicity, and polymer degradation on release of drugs and biomolecules are reviewed. Importance of various stimuli on the drug/biomolecule delivery is focused on in this chapter. Delivery of biomolecules such as growth factors and nucleic acid using electrospinning provides a favorable environment and supporting matrix to the cells, hence, application of electrospun fibers on regenerative tissue engineering is also reviewed.