Applications of Electrospraying in Tissue Repair and Regeneration

Abstract

Electrospraying (ES) is becoming popular in tissue engineering owing to its ability to produce customized micro- or nanoscale particles for delivering bioactive molecules (e.g., growth factors, genes, enzymes, and therapeutic molecules possessing antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory) and living cells aimed at skin, bone, cartilage, and neural tissue repair and regeneration. Compared to conventional delivery methods, ES significantly reduces the denaturation of growth factors (such as BMP-2, BMP-7, VEGF, PDGF, and SDF-1) because of the limited exposure to organic solvents. Bioelectrospraying (BES) allows the encapsulation of living cells, including stem cells, fibroblasts, ligament cells, epithelial and endothelial cells, etc. Electrospray nanocarriers containing cells and other bioactive compounds can be further integrated into intricate three-dimensional (3D) constructs intended for implantation into defects to achieve targeted delivery and tissue regeneration. The chapter highlights ES’s principles, advantages, and significant applications in tissue repair and regeneration and outlines the key challenges and limitations.