Electrospun polymer-based nanofiber scaffolds for skin regeneration

Abstract Skin is an essential protective organ in the body, and damage inflicted on its tissues can lead to serious problems if no proper care is given. Chronic skin wounds are the more serious type of wounds since they cannot heal normally on their own. Nanofibers are one of the promising solutions for better treatment of wounds, due to their availability, ability to mimic the skin extracellular matrix (ECM), and inability to transmit diseases unlike common skin grafts. Nanofibrous scaffolds are fabricated via different techniques including electrospinning, self-assembly, phase separation, and template synthesis. In this review article, we discuss the different ways of tailoring nanofibers, in order to produce an efficient wound healing scaffold for skin tissues. Parameters of nanofibers can be manipulated more easily and effectively with electrospinning than with other techniques. Electrospun nanofibers pass through different processing stages, and in each stage different techniques and manipulations can be conducted to improve the product. Pre-electrospinning treatment depends on the composition of the polymer solution that will be added to the electrospinner, and the electropinner setup itself can affect the produced fibers. Post-electrospinning treatment, which is the final modification that can be carried out in the fabrication process can also affect the properties of the produced nanofibers. Finally, the type of bioactive substance incorporated in the scaffold can help improve the bioactivity and efficiency of the scaffold. Therefore, this review provides an overview on the parameters affecting the electrospinning process of nanofibers, with emphasis on the most popular bioactive molecules incorporated within nanofibers for skin regeneration purposes.