Core–Sheath Wet Electrospinning of Nanoporous Polycaprolactone Microtubes to Mimic Fenestrated Capillaries

Abstract Formation of capillary vessel structures in scaffolds is critical for engineering various tissues and organs. Various biofabrication techniques are developed in recent years to create scaffolds integrated with perfusion channels. However, rapid fabrication of artificial capillary vessels (<10 µm) still remains challenging. In this study, a novel electrospinning approach is developed to fabricate nanoporous polycaprolactone microtubes as potential functional capillaries. The results show that ambient environment parameters and solution properties affect the pore formation and tube morphology. Porous microbeads, helical fibers, and microtubes were fabricated under different processing conditions. The optimal tubular structure is obtained with consistent viscosities between the core and the sheath solutions. The biomimetic nanoporous microtubes hold great potential for vascularization in tissue engineering.