Topographical and Biomechanical Guidance of Electrospun Fibers for Biomedical Applications

Electrospinning is gaining increasing interest in the biomedical field as an eco-friendly andeconomic technique for production of random and oriented polymeric fibers. The aim of this reviewwas to give an overview of electrospinning potentialities in the production of fibers for biomedicalapplications with a focus on the possibility to combine biomechanical and topographical stimuli.In fact, selection of the polymer and the eventual surface modification of the fibers allow selectionof the proper chemical/biological signal to be administered to the cells. Moreover, a proper designof fiber orientation, dimension, and topography can give the opportunity to drive cell growth alsofrom a spatial standpoint. At this purpose, the review contains a first introduction on potentialities ofelectrospinning for the obtainment of random and oriented fibers both with synthetic and naturalpolymers. The biological phenomena which can be guided and promoted by fibers compositionand topography are in depth investigated and discussed in the second section of the paper. Finally,the recent strategies developed in the scientific community for the realization of electrospun fibersand for their surface modification for biomedical application are presented and discussed in thelast section.