Composites of electrospun-fibers and hydrogels: A potential solution to current challenges in biological and biomedical field

With increasingly rigorous requirements for biomaterials, the design and fabrication of novel materials with smart functions are urgently needed. The fabrication of composite materials that can surmount individual shortcomings as well as bring synergistic benefits represents an efficient route to improve the performances and expand application scopes of biomaterials. Due to their unique structures and properties, electrospun-fibers and hydrogels have been widely applied in many biological and biomedical fields. Based on this, more and more attentions have been paid on the composites of electrospun-fibers and hydrogels as biomaterials, aiming to bring their individual superiority into full play as well as remedy their intrinsic defects. This review summarizes approaches used to integrate electrospun-fibers and hydrogels into various structures and the development of their composites as a potential solution to some current challenges in drug delivery, tissue engineering and some other bio-related aspects. The individual roles and mutual synergy of electrospun-fibers and hydrogels in the composites will be emphasized. (c) 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 104B: 640-656, 2016.