With the increase of consumption of high-sugar foods, beverages, tobacco, and alcohol, the incidence rate of oral diseases has been increasing year by year. Statistics showed that the prevalence of oral diseases such as dental caries, dental pulpal disease, and periodontal disease has reached as high as 97% in 2015 in China. It is thus urgent to develop functional materials or products for the treatment of oral diseases. Electrospinning has been a widely used technology that is capable of utilizing polymer solution to generate micro/nano fibers under an appropriate high voltage condition. Owing to their excellent structures and biological performances, materials prepared by electrospinning technology have been used for a wide range of oral-related applications, such as tissue restoration, controlled drug release, anti-cancer, etc. In this regard, this article reviews the application and progress of electrospun nanofibers to various oral diseases in recent years. Firstly, engineering strategies of a variety of nanofiber structures together with their resultant functions will be introduced. Then, biological functions of electrospun nanofibers as well as their applications in the treatment of oral diseases are summarized and demonstrated. Finally, the development viewpoint of functional nanofibers is prospected, which is expected to lay the foundation and propose the direction for further clinical application.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma represents 90% of all oral cancers. Recurrence prevention remains an important prognostic factor in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma, and the recovery of the oral epithelium post-surgery is still a challenge. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop a smart carrier material to realize the spatiotemporally controlled release of anticancer drugs, instead of multiple oral administrations, for recurrence prevention and promoting the reconstruction of injured epithelial tissues. Here, we developed a multi-layered nanofiber patch capable of the photothermal-triggered release of low-molecular-weight fucoidan (LMWF) from the sandwiched layer, together with electrospun fibers as the backing and top layers. The sandwiched layer was made of phase-change materials loaded with indocyanine green, a photosensitive dye, for the localized release of LMWF in response to near-infrared irradiation. We showed that the on-demand release of LMWF was able to kill oral cancer cells effectively. Furthermore, adding acellular dermal matrix to the top nanofiber layer improved the proliferation of human oral keratinocytes, while the hydrophobic back layer served as a barrier to prevent loss of the drug. Taken together, this study provides a feasible and smart material system for killing oral squamous cancer cells together with the recovery of oral epithelium.

Synergistic effects: owing to the topographic guidance provided by fiber alignment and nanoscale SiO₂ protrusions together with the biological cue of galectin-1 coating, neurite extension and neural stem cell migration were facilitated.

A multifunction 2MI-P@MSN nanoparticle was constructed for Zn ²⁺ sensing and reperfusion injury treatment. This strategy highlights the potential for the detection, absorption and assembly of excess zinc ions simultaneously.