The combination of electrospinning and the gas foaming technique enables the production of hydrophilic poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) mats with a 3D nanofibrous architecture, exhibiting promising features for cellular infiltration.

The resulting materials have fiber diameters in the range of hundreds of nanometers and retain their hydrophilicity after crosslinking with citric acid, preventing dissolution. 

The mats expand their thickness by c.a. 760 %, while preserving the scaffolds properties in its 3D form. Biological assays confirm the cell viability upon exposure to these 3D nanofibrous scaffolds and their capacity to favour the infiltration of NIH 3T3 fibroblasts. 

These preliminary results suggest potential applications in tissue regeneration processes.