SCIEPublish

Electrospun Scaffolds for Spinal Cord Injury Repair: Mechanisms, Strategies, and Advances

lssue 1, Volume 3
Download PDF
Cite This Article
Contents

Review Open Access

Electrospun Scaffolds for Spinal Cord Injury Repair: Mechanisms, Strategies, and Advances

Cheng Yang 1 Sijia Zhu 1 Chuankun Li 1 Min Yang 1,* Yusuf Suleiman Dambatta 2,3 Xiaotian Zhang 2 Yongxing Zang 4 Yanbin Zhang 1 Xiao Ma 1 Peng Yao 5 Changhe Li 1

Author Information
Other Information
1
Key Laboratory of Industrial Fluid Energy Conservation and Pollution Control (Ministry of Education), Qingdao University of Technology, Qingdao 266520, China
2
School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Qingdao Binhai University, Qingdao 266555, China
3
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ahmadu Bello University, No 210 Sarduna Crescent, Area Bz Samaru, Zaria 810010, Nigeria
4
Baoding Lizhong Wheel Manufacturing Co., Ltd., No. 948, East Qiyi Road, Baoding 071000, China
5
Key Laboratory of High Efficiency and Clean Mechanical Manufacture, Shandong University, Ministry of Education, Jinan 250061, China
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received: 16 January 2026 Revised: 31 March 2026 Accepted: 11 May 2026 Published: 28 May 2026

Creative Commons

© 2026 The authors. This is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Views:12
Downloads:5
Intell. Sustain. Manuf. 2026, 3(1), 10010; DOI: 10.70322/ism.2026.10010
ABSTRACT: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating and irreversible damage to the central nervous system that can result in permanent disability or even death. Electrospinning technology, as a specialized fiber preparation method, possesses unique advantages such as high porosity, adjustable pore size, and an extremely high surface area-to-volume ratio. Despite the widespread attention this technology has garnered for its potential application in the treatment of SCI, there is still a lack of comprehensive and up-to-date reviews in the existing literature, and specific clinical treatment guidelines are also scarce. As a result, researchers and clinicians lack targeted guidance for practical implementation. To address this gap, the present article systematically summarizes the mechanisms by which electrospun scaffolds facilitate SCI repair and their current therapeutic applications. First, this review provides an in-depth analysis of the five core mechanisms underlying electrospinning therapy for SCI, including extracellular matrix (ECM) mimicry, axonal-extension guidance, multimodal signal regulation, drug loading and sustained release, and physical support and protection. Next, this review examines how key electrospinning parameters (fiber diameter, alignment, surface chemistry, biodegradation rate, and nanomorphology) influence these therapeutic mechanisms. Finally, this review explores the state-of-the-art applications of electrospun scaffolds in SCI treatment, including purely structural conduits, biochemical functionalization (drug loading and controlled release, immunomodulation and anti-inflammation, and coaxial electrospinning), and multi-component composite materials (hydrogel–electrospun hybrids, cell- and growth-factor co-delivery systems, and cell electrospinning).
Keywords: Electrospinning; Spinal cord injury; Nanofiber scaffold
TOP