Self-assembling peptide nanofibrous scaffolds for tissue engineering: novel approaches and strategies for effective functional regeneration.

Tissue engineering requires an ideal scaffold that will aid in the regeneration of the damaged tissues both structurally and functionally. Conventionally, polymeric nanofibrous scaffolds have been extensively used due to their structural similarity to the native extracellular matrix. Thus far, top-down approaches like electrospinning and phase separation have been predominantly used for the nanofiber fabrication. Recently, self-assembling peptide nanofibers (SAPNF) have been identified as promising scaffolds for tissue engineering applications. Molecular self-assembly of peptides, which is a bottom-up approach has laid foundations for the development of such novel scaffolds. Designer self-assembling peptides provide functional support as well as bio-recognition due to the presence of bioactive motifs embedded in them. However, there are certain limitations to both electrospun and SAPNF scaffolds in terms of synthesis, cues presented to the biological system and applications. Design of composite, hybrid scaffolds by super-positioning possible cues may result in effective functional tissue regeneration at multiple levels.