Biomimetic design of extracellular matrix-like substrate for tissue regeneration

Electrospinning, a high-voltage-driven spinning technique, has the ability to fabricate nanofibers with the dimension and morphology similar to native tissue extracellular matrix (ECM) fibers from various materials. Owing to relatively high production rate, low setup cost, and easy operation, electrospinning receives great attention in materials and life sciences, especially in the tissue engineering research. It is predominantly applied to polymeric materials, including synthetic and natural polymers. The possibility of temporospatially incorporating and releasing various bioactive molecules from electrospun nanofibers and yielding anisotropic fiber orientation enables the recapitulation of the major features of ECM in the scaffold design for tissue regeneration. In addition, three-dimensional cell-fiber constructs can be fabricated using either the layer-by-layer assembly approach or co-electrospraying to emulate the in vivo circumstances. Taken together, this review will highlight the particular application of electrospinning technique in creation of ECM-like environment favorable for functional tissue formation.