The opportunity of electrospinning as a form of additive manufacturing in biotechnology

3D Printing additive manufacturing is a rapidly developing form of technology. Currently able to manipulate many polymers (both synthetic and organic) this technique is quickly becoming an integral part of biotechnological developments. This paper highlights the fundamentals of this technology namely the mechanisms employed in standard 3D printing it then introduces tissue engineering a field in which current versions of this technology have been employed as bioprinting. The limitations with respect to tissue engineering are discussed outlining the current technologies inability to produce nanofibre based structures common in tissue such as tendon cartilage and cornea. From this requirement for nanofibre production electrospinning is introduced as a potential pathway for future tissue engineering 3D printing technologies and finally the current combination of this technology with 3D Printing is discussed yielding current limitations in retaining required nano-resolutions.