Electrospinning techniques to control deposition and structural alignment of nanofibrous scaffolds for cellular orientation and cytoskeletal reorganization

Cells and extracellular matrix (ECM) fibrils in most natural tissues are not random, but exhibit well-defined patterns and specific spatial orientation. Recent findings demonstrated that oriented biopolymer-based nanofibrous scaffolds have the potential for engineering blood vessels [1], neural tissue [2], and ligament tissue [3]. Furthermore, it has been shown that cell adhesion and proliferation [1] is significantly improved on oriented nanofibrous scaffolds. The contact guidance theory suggests that cells have the greatest probability of migrating in preferred orientations which are associated with chemical, structural, and=or mechanical properties of the substrate [4-6]. Consequently, it may be postulated that an oriented nanofibrous scaffold would guide cell alignment along the nanofibers. The cell arrangement onto an oriented nanofibrous scaffold could be due to the contact guidance and=or to cytoskeletal reorganization. Aligned cells could then be used to remodel and modulate the regenerated ECM and microenvironment [7].