Generation of 3D Nanofiber Structure by Divergence Electrospinning for Tissue Engineering Scaffold

Fabrication of biomimetic cell microenvironment closely resembling the native tissues is critical for regenerative medicine. It remains challenging to create a 3D fibrous microstructure of extracellular matrix on a clinical-relevant scale. In this paper we presented a novel divergence electrospinning strategy for 3D nanofiber structure fabrication. The electrospinning induced by a double-bevel collector was able to quickly generate a multi-layer scaffold, comprised of uniaxially aligned nanofibers, at centimeter scales in all dimensions. The results showed that the internal nanofiber distribution was largely determined by the inclination angle of the axisymmetric bevels of the collector. A larger inclination angle alleviated the polarization of the fiber distribution due to a lower electric force gradient between the spinneret and the bevel surfaces. This technique can be applied in engineering of musculoskeletal soft tissues in which fibrous cytoskeletal organization is critical.