Naoto Saito
Department of Applied Physical Therapy, Shinshu University School of Health Sciences, Asahi3-1-1, Matsumoto, Nagano, 390-8621, Japan

Abstract:

Regenerative treatmentsfor various tissues are expected to be practically applied. However, effective scaffold material that hold cells or cytokines at the local site and facilitate the construction of new tissue is necessary to achieve excellent regenerative performance. Optimal new scaffoldsare expected to be developed, and carbon fiber materials are strong candidatesin this area. By the dramatic progress of technology in recent years, the production of carbon fibersofnono-sized diameter have become possible, and application studies of these carbon nanofibers to biomaterials have attracted attention.We developed the first thin carbon fiber web (TCFW) that consists of fibers with nano-sized diameter and has three-dimensional structure with micro-sized spaces. This new material enables cells to adhere on the surface of the thin fibers and stay there. In addition, blood vessels could easily penetrate from surrounding tissues to the spacesin the web structure. Fiber webs could be expected to play a role in crutches, and the effective construction of new tissues should be able to be achieved. TCFW had proved to be a very effective scaffold for bone tissue regeneration.