A Brief Review on Fabrication Methods of Three-dimensinal Porous Scaffolds by Electrospinning-Part II: Chemical Methods

One of the major components of tissue engineering is the scaffold. The main role of the scaffold is to provide a suitable environment that defines the shape of the tissue. In fact, scaffold can support cell adhesion and proliferation. In tissue engineering, three-dimensional (3D) nanofibrous structures are preferred owing to their structural similarity to human body tissues. 3D porous scaffolds serve not only as structural molds for tissue production but also provide signaling cues to cells and facilitate oxygen and therapeutic agent delivery. The fabrication of 3D scaffolds cannot be achieved using conventional processes, so cultured cells could only develop into flat shapes. Therefore, to improve the thickness of scaffolds, several approaches have been suggested to fabricate 3D porous scaffolds. This article summarizes chemical methods of producing 3D porous scaffolds including particulate leaching, phase separation and gas foaming. This review will cover the production methods of 3D scaffolds using electrospinning by focusing on solution electrospinning. Furthermore, the role of various factors like charge density and humidity in electrospun scaffolds is discussed.