Bioengineering of Tubes, Rings and Panels for Guided Bone and Vascular Regeneration

Abstract The development of three dimensional geometries by electrospinning of nonwoven, bioresorbable PDLLA nanoand microfibers is a prerequisite for multimodal growth factor delivery by biohybrids. Electrospinning of 3D tubes is a formidable task since the deposited nanofibers on the rotating mandrel adhere so strongly that newly formed tubes cannot be removed. A specific electrospinning instrument setup with a "removable mandrel sleeve" technique facilitated the reproducible synthesis of tubes for guided bone and future vascular applications. It is shown, that this technique not only allows the preparation of tubes but also of self-supported 3D rings and sandwich panels which can be functionally doped by growth factors such as rhBMP-2 to biohybrids.