Effects of nanotopography on stem cell phenotypes

Table 2 Various fabrication techniques to achieve nanotopography

Fabrication technique	Advantages	Drawbacks
Laser deposition	Uniform distribution of pore size, simple and fast	Reduced resolution and poor surface finish
Self assembly	Can generate fibrous networks capable of supporting cells in three dimensions. Cell-seeding problems associated with using prefabricated nanofibrous scaffolds eliminated owing to spontaneous assembly	Lack mechanical strength, Limited amphiphilic materials, random and very short nanofibers
Lithography	Relatively good resolution	Time consuming and expensive.
Electrospinning	The properties of electrospun nanofibers, such as fiber diameter, can be controlled readily via manipulation of spinning parameters. Capable of mimicking the stem cell niche	Electrospinning yields a flat mat that has limited three dimensionality and suffers from cell infiltration problems because of the small pore size of the mats
Phase separation	A nanofibrous (fibers with diameters of 50-500 nm) three-dimensional scaffold can be constructed. Has controllable high porosity, surface-to- volume ratios, and well as defined mechanical properties	Nanofiber distribution and uniformity is subject to the controllability of the processing