• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.79-86
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• 2022

Numerous fabrication techniques have been used to mimic cylindrical natural tissues, such as blood vessels, tendons, ligaments, and skeletal muscles. However, most processes have limitations in achieving the biomimetic properties of multilayered and porous architectures. In this study, to embrace both features, a novel self-assembly method was proposed using electrospun microfibrous sheets. A bilayer microfibrous structure, comprising two sheets with different internal stresses, was fabricated by electrospinning a polycaprolactone (PCL) sheet on a uniaxially stretched thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) sheet. Then, by removing the stretching tension, the sheet was rolled into a hollow cylindrical structure with a specific internal diameter. The internal diameter could be quantitatively controlled by adjusting the thickness of the PCL sheet against that of the TPU sheet. Through this self-assembly method, biomimetic cylindrical structures with multilayer and porous features can be manufactured in a stable and controllable manner. Therefore, the resulting structures may be applied to various tissue engineering scaffolds, especially vascular and connective tissues.