Aldemir Dikici, B. orcid.org/0000-0002-5516-469X and Claeyssens, F. orcid.org/0000-0002-1030-939X (2020) Basic principles of emulsion templating and its use as an emerging manufacturing method of tissue engineering scaffolds. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 8. 875.
Abstract
Tissue engineering (TE) aims to regenerate critical size defects, which cannot heal naturally, by using highly porous matrices called TE scaffolds made of biocompatible and biodegradable materials. There are various manufacturing techniques commonly used to fabricate TE scaffolds. However, in most cases, they do not provide materials with a highly interconnected pore design. Thus, emulsion templating is a promising and convenient route for the fabrication of matrices with up to 99% porosity and high interconnectivity. These matrices have been used for various application areas for decades. Although this polymer structuring technique is older than TE itself, the use of polymerised internal phase emulsions (PolyHIPEs) in TE is relatively new compared to other scaffold manufacturing techniques. It is likely because it requires a multidisciplinary background including materials science, chemistry and TE although producing emulsion templated scaffolds is practically simple. To date, a number of excellent reviews on emulsion templating have been published by the pioneers in this field in order to explain the chemistry behind this technique and potential areas of use of the emulsion templated structures. This particular review focusses on the key points of how emulsion templated scaffolds can be fabricated for different TE applications. Accordingly, we first explain the basics of emulsion templating and characteristics of PolyHIPE scaffolds. Then, we discuss the role of each ingredient in the emulsion and the impact of the compositional changes and process conditions on the characteristics of PolyHIPEs. Afterward, current fabrication methods of biocompatible PolyHIPE scaffolds and polymerisation routes are detailed, and the functionalisation strategies that can be used to improve the biological activity of PolyHIPE scaffolds are discussed. Finally, the applications of PolyHIPEs on soft and hard TE as well as in vitro models and drug delivery in the literature are summarised.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2020 The Authors. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. |
Keywords: | emulsion templating; tissue engineering; biomaterials; scaffold; PolyHIPE; porosity; interconnectivity; tunability |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Engineering (Sheffield) > Department of Materials Science and Engineering (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number Medical Research Council MR/L012669/1 Engineering and Physical Science Research Council EP/I007695/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 02 Sep 2020 10:15 |
Last Modified: | 03 Sep 2020 09:19 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Frontiers Media SA |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.3389/fbioe.2020.00875 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:165008 |