Conductive nanofibrous scaffolds for tissue engineering

One of very demanded and actively developed areas of modern biomedicine is tissue engineering, investigating synthesis and reparation of various kinds of tissues, including trauma treatment. Normally cells in tissue grow in the microenvironment provided by exttacellular matrix – a three-dimensional network of macromolecules, mostly peptides and proteins, that provide structural and biochemical support. To substitute this matrix in medical applications and promote new cells growth and repair damaged tissue, various types of artificial scaffolds are proposed. Morphology, as well as physical and chemical properties of scaffolds influence the fate of cells, including attachment, proliferation and differentiation, and strongly correlate with the type of target tissue. This review is aimed to provide a short insight in materials and technologies for synthesis of tissue engineering scaffolds, with focus on polymeric electrospun nonwoven materials and ones with conductive structures that can be potentially used to direct electrical signals to cells for the aims of electrostimulation, which was demonstrated to induce functional repairmen of certain cell types such as myocytes and neurons.