Advancing electrospun nanofiber scaffolds for next-generation tissue engineering: from trend analysis to multifunctionalization and hybrid fabrication

Tissue engineering is an emerging and integrated field for the repair of defective tissues, which benefits from the interdisciplinary development of biomaterial and engineering techniques. Electrospinning is a promising technique used in tissue engineering to fabricate fiber-based biomaterials that could mimic the extracellular matrix even at the nanometer level, but there has been no review to identify the trends and systematically summarize the application strategies of electrospinning in tissue engineering. This review initially used bibliometric analysis to investigate the trends of electrospinning in tissue engineering from the beginning of this century by evaluating distinctive aspects including publication years, countries, institutions, and keywords. Then, this review presents the multi-hierarchical strategies used in electrospinning to fabricate functional scaffolds for tissue engineering, including biochemical modification, biophysical modification and cell incorporation. Moreover, the hybrid combinations of electrospinning with other biofabrication techniques to fabricate composite scaffolds are summarized including textile, 3D printing, hydrogel, lyophilization and gas foaming, thus finely simulating the bionic 3D microenvironment or the complex/interfacial tissue structures. Finally, this review discusses the research prospects and ongoing challenges, aiming to promote further development and clinical transformation.