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/ Biomaterials 114 (2017) 121e143 131

Fig. 4. Microfluidic spun fibers with diverse shapes and dimensions.1, Solid fiber (Reprinted with permission from [66]. Copyright 2008 American Chemical Society.); 2, Porous fiber
(Reprinted with permission from [66]. Copyright 2008 American Chemical Society.); 3, Tubular fiber (Reprinted with permission from [33]. Copyright 2011 Royal Society of
Chemistry.); 4, Serial coding microfiber (Reprinted with permission from [45]. Copyright 2011 Nature Publishing Group.); 5, Beaded microfiber (Reprinted with permission from
[45]. Copyright 2011 Nature Publishing Group.); 6, Parallel coding microfiber (Reprinted with permission from [45]. Copyright 2011 Nature Publishing Group.); 7, Bamboo-like
hybrid microfiber (Reprinted with permission from [216]. Copyright 2014 John Wiley and Sons.); 8, Janus microfiber (Reprinted with permission from [111]. Copyright 2009
Royal Society of Chemistry.); 9, Multicompartmental microfibers (Reprinted with permission from [201]. Copyright 2014 John Wiley and Sons.); 10, Mosaic hydrogel flat microfibers
(Reprinted with permission from [62]. Copyright 2012 John Wiley and Sons.); 11, Void areas patterning flat microfiber (Reprinted with permission from [62]. Copyright 2012 John
Wiley and Sons.); 12, Grooved microfiber (Reprinted with permission from [45]. Copyright 2011 Nature Publishing Group.); 13, Grooved flat microfiber (Reprinted with permission
from [47]. Copyright 2012 John Wiley and Sons.); 14, Nanofiber (Reprinted with permission from [48]. Copyright 2013 John Wiley and Sons.); 15, Semi-tubular microfiber (Reprinted
with permission from [33]. Copyright 2011 Royal Society of Chemistry.).

nanoparticles were incorporated into aligned electrospun silk
fibroin/PEO nanofibers and the resulting nanofibers showed
considerable potential as a substrate for nerve tissue engineering
[186]. The silk/PEO/gold nanocomposite based nerve conduit was
found to promote adhesion and proliferation of Schwann cells
in vitro and showed good biocompatibility with surrounding tissue
in vivo [186]. Pre-seeding the conduits with Schwann cells was
found to enhance myelination of the regenerated tissue. The ani-
mals implanted with the conduits exhibited near normal values of
nerve conduction velocity, compound muscle action potential and
motor unit potential [186].
Blood vessels: Normal blood vessels, except capillaries, have
three lamellar layers composed of different cells: the intima that
contains a single layer of endothelial cells and prevents sponta-
neous blood coagulation, the media that consists of smooth muscle
cells and provides optimal mechanical properties, and the adven-
titia that consists of fibroblasts and connective tissues [170]. Suit-
able matrices for blood vessel tissue engineering should be
designed to mimic the distinct properties of the specific blood
vessel regions. PCL, as an aliphatic polyester, is characterized by its