Applications of electrospun scaffolds with enlarged pores in tissue engineering

Despite electrospinning having multiple advantages over other methods such as creating materials with a superfine fiber diameter, high specific surface area, and good mechanical properties, the pore diameter of scaffolds prepared directly using conventional electrospinning is often smaller than a few tens of microns, which may not be suitable for three-dimensional (3-D) cell culture and tissue growth. In order to achieve satisfactory results for use in tissue engineering, the pore size of the scaffold should be increased to a size dependent on the specific cells being cultured. Many methods for enlarging the pore size of electrospun scaffolds have been described in the literature. In the present review, we have summarized the preparation of macroporous electrospun scaffold techniques for the skin, blood vessels, bone, cartilage and nerve tissue engineering for different applications, and further discuss the influence of changing pore-enlarging process parameters on the properties of the scaffolds, such as mechanical properties, and hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity, etc. We believe that changes in scaffold pore size and related physical properties can have a profound impact on cell behavior, such as adhesion, proliferation and infiltration, and the significance of their influence on applications of electrospun tissue engineering scaffolds is worthy of further investigation in the future.