Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) Nanofibers for Bone Tissue Engineering

Bone tissue engineering is the most promising therapeutic method to alleviate the fast-growing request for bone grafts in nonunion bone defects. It is founded on the use of implanted autologous cells or induced stem cells to form bone tissues on naturally derived or synthetic scaffolds. Nanofibers are being increasingly implemented in bone tissue engineering field as scaffolding materials to regenerate new bone tissues owing to their high surface area-to-volume ratio, high porosity with an interconnected pore structure and the suitable surface structure for cell attachment, proliferation, and differentiation. PLA biopolymer has captured the most attention and interest as a bone tissue engineering material since PLA is easily processable and degrades and disintegrates into natural metabolites while its degradation rate matches with the healing time of damaged human bone tissues. So, the potential of using PLA nanofibers in bone tissue engineering is a serious goal for scientists in novel investigations. This review gives detailed information about the recent developments and applications of PLA nanofibers as scaffolds for bone tissue regeneration.

Keywords:

Nanofiber , Tissue engineering , poly(lactic acid) , Bone , Scaffold