Sustainable nanofibers in tissue engineering and biomedical applications

Abstract

The practice of using a massive amount of environmental unfriendly and toxic petroleum-based materials in tissue engineering and biomedical fields demands the materials, which are biodegradable, renewable, environmentally friendly, biocompatible, and bioactive. So, renewable polymers have got considerable attention due to their numerous desirable properties. The nanofibers that are prepared from renewable materials and their blends can integrate the properties of both nanofibers and renewable polymers. Development of scaffolds that mimic the construction of tissues at nanoscale is a great challenge for tissue engineering. Electrospinning is the most promising technique for nanofibers formation. Nanofibers provide a platform for cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation. Therefore, nanofibers from sustainable materials have been used in tissue engineering and biomedical fields. In this review, methods for nanofibers fabrication, sustainable nanofibers made from natural and synthetic polymers and their applications in tissue engineering and biomedical field, have been emphasized.