Coaxial electrospun fibers: applications in drug delivery and tissue engineering

Coelectrospinning and emulsion electrospinning are two main methods for preparing core–sheath electrospun nanofibers in a cost‐effective and efficient manner. Here, physical phenomena and the effects of solution and processing parameters on the coaxial fibers are introduced. Coaxial fibers with specific drugs encapsulated in the core can exhibit a sustained and controlled release. Their exhibited high surface area and three‐dimensional nanofibrous network allows the electrospun fibers to resemble native extracellular matrices. These features of the nanofibers show that they have great potential in drug delivery and tissue engineering applications. Proteins, growth factors, antibiotics, and many other agents have been successfully encapsulated into coaxial fibers for drug delivery. A main advantage of the core–sheath design is that after the process of electrospinning and release, these drugs remain bioactive due to the protection of the sheath. Applications of coaxial fibers as scaffolds for tissue engineering include bone, cartilage, cardiac tissue, skin, blood vessels and nervous tissue, among others. A synopsis of novel coaxial electrospun fibers, discussing their applications in drug delivery and tissue engineering, is covered pertaining to proteins, growth factors, antibiotics, and other drugs and applications in the fields of bone, cartilage, cardiac, skin, blood vessel, and nervous tissue engineering, respectively. WIREs Nanomed Nanobiotechnol 2016, 8:654–677. doi: 10.1002/wnan.1391 This article is categorized under: Implantable Materials and Surgical Technologies > Nanomaterials and Implants Implantable Materials and Surgical Technologies > Nanotechnology in Tissue Repair and Replacement Implantable Materials and Surgical Technologies > Nanoscale Tools and Techniques in Surgery