Comparison of 3D structure and fabrication technique

Comparison of 3D nanofibrous structure and fabrication technique

Technique/Structure	Pros	Cons	Suitable for
Vertical stacking of layers of fiber membrane Each fiber layer may consist of non-woven fibers or aligned fibers. See details	Easy to mix different material Fixed and stable shape Easy to construct Conventional electrospinning setup Cell culture: Easy to seed cell on surface prior to stacking Able to construct scaffold with different layers and cell types	Distinct interface is a source of mechanical weakness Not suitable for filling irregular shape cavities Proper treatment required to prevent layers from separating Very manual and time consuming Difficult to scale up Cell culture: Cells are unable to penetrate through layers	Application where loading is compressive Barrier along the stacking axis is an advantage eg. filtration
Layered yarns or beams See details	Controllable pore size between layers Fixed and stable shape Potential to scale up Cell culture: Interconnecting pores Large pore size	Proper treatment required to maintain structure Not suitable for filling irregular shape cavities Modification of setup required Cell culture: Cell may fall through gap during seeding.	Application where loading is compressive Tissue regeneration
Concentric fiber layer See details	Fixed and stable shape if bonding between yarns is adequate Conventional electrospinning setup Easy to construct Rolling of the concentrtic layer may be mechanized Cell culture: Easy to seed cell on surface prior to rolling Able to construct scaffold with different layers and cell types Easy for cells to migrate from end to end along longitudinal axis	Proper treatment required to maintain shape Difficult to scale up Cell culture: Cells are unable to penetrate through the radial layers	Barrier along the radial axis is required eg. filtration
3D scaffold from thin layer membrane Consist of folds with two surfaces See details	Easy to construct Scaling up is possible	Mechanically weak Uncontrollable pore size Unstable structure Custom setup required Cell culture: Non-uniform cell seeding density	Application for filling irregular shape cavity Tissue regeneration
Fragments with binders See details	Easy to construct Scaling up is possible Conventional setup Able to form defined shape with the use of binders Cell culture: Able to seed cell prior to forming 3D shape Interconnected pores	Mechanically weak	Tissue regeneration where cell seeding prior to forming of 3D scaffold is desirable
Progressive membrane buildup Single, dense layer of fibers See details	Easy to construct Conventional setup	Takes a long time to build up sufficiently thick layer Cell culture: Limited cell penetration into its depth without membrane modification	Affinity membrane with depth filtration
Nanofiber-microfiber combination a. Nanofiber coating on microfiber substrate b. Nanofiber coating individual microfiber See details	a. Coating on microfiber substrate: Easy to construct Conventional setup Braiding or weaving of microfiber prior to coating Take advantage of superior strength of microfiber b. Coating on individual microfiber: Large pore size	a. Coating on microfiber substrate: Clear distinction between nanofiber and microfiber layer b. Coating on individual microfiber: Modification of setup required Not suitable for application where defined shape is required	Tissue regeneration a. Filtration membrane b. Affinity filter membrane
Combining nanofibers with rapid prototyping (RP) technique See details	Take advantage of relative higher strength of RP structure Easy to build up 3D structure RP form able to maintain integrity	Only suitable for RP technique that does not require support material Stable but limited forms	Tissue regeneration
Nanofiber with hydrogel See details	Take advantage of relative higher compressive strength of some hydrogel Easy to build up 3D structure Conventional electrospinning setup	Difficult to get uniform fiber distribution in hydrogel	Tissue regeneration
Particles leached nanofiber scaffold See details	Larger pore size than conventional setup Nanofibers only	Slow to build up volume Mechanically weak	Affinity filtration Tissue regeneration
Nanofiber structure from ice scaffolding See details	Larger pore size than conventional setup Nanofibers only	Slow to build up volume Mechanically weak	Tissue regeneration
Nanofiber structure form on liquid surface See details	Larger pore size than conventional setup Nanofibers only	Slow to build up volume Mechanically weak Generally require solvent reservoir as collector	Tissue regeneration
Sacrificial fibers Non-woven membrane See details	Larger pore size than conventional setup Nanofibers only	Slow to build up volume Difficult to completely remove sacrificial fiber	Tissue regeneration
Self-bundling of nanofibers to form randomly organized nanofiber structure See details	Nanofibers only Relative rapid buildup of nanofiber scaffold with volume	Only possible for selective polymers or conditions Structure lacks integrity	Application where easily moldable scaffold is preferred. Tissue regeneration
Self-organized nanofibers See details	Nanofibers only	Only possible for selective polymers or conditions Structure lacks integrity Not possible to control fiber organization Slow process
Electric field charges Randomly organized 3D nanofiber structure See details	Nanofibers only Relative rapid buildup of nanofiber scaffold with volume	Structure lacks integrity Modification of setup required	Application where easily moldable scaffold is preferred
Water vortex Randomly organized nanofibrous yarns See details	Nanofibers only Relative rapid buildup of nanofiber scaffold with volume Large inter-yarn pore size Yarn microstructure	Structure lacks integrity Modification of setup required Freeze-drying to remove water	Application where easily moldable scaffold is preferred Tissue regeneration
Lamellar flow – Single nanofiber layer membrane forming 3D nanofibrous structure See details	Nanofibers only Relative rapid buildup of nanofiber scaffold with volume	Structure lacks integrity Modification of setup required Freeze-drying to remove water	Application where easily moldable scaffold is preferred Tissue regeneration
3D nanofibrous structure using waterflow Randomly organized nanofibers See details	Nanofibers only Relative rapid buildup of nanofiber scaffold with volume	Structure lacks integrity Modification of setup required Freeze-drying to remove water
Ultrasonic vibration Randomly organized nanofibers See details	Nanofibers only Conventional setup	Structure lacks integrity Freeze-drying to remove water
Mechanical combing to unravel nanofiber from membrane Randomly organized nanofibers See details	Nanofibers only Conventional setup Simple	Compromised structure due to damaged nanofiber Not practical to scale up Structure lacks integrity

Published date: 14 April 2013
Last updated: -

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