Abstract
Design of mechanical skeletons of biodegradable synthetic polymers such as poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA), poly(DL-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), and poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) is important in the construction of the hybrid scaffolds of biodegradable synthetic polymers and naturally derived polymers such as collagen. In this study, cylinder-shaped PLLA, PLGA, and PCL sponges were prepared by the porogen leaching method using a cylinder model. The effects of polymer type, polymer fraction, cylinder height, pore size, and porosity on the mechanical properties of the cylinder-shape sponges were investigated. SEM observation showed that these cylinder-shaped sponges had evenly distributed bulk pore structures and the wall surfaces were less porous with a smaller pore size than the wall bulk pore structures. The porosity and pore size of the sponges could be controlled by the ratio and size of the porogen materials. The PLGA sponges showed superior mechanical properties than those of the PLLA and PCL sponges. Higher porosity resulted in an inferior mechanical strength. The pore size and sponge height also affected the mechanical properties. The results indicate that cylinder-shaped sponges can be tethered by choosing the appropriate polymers, size and ratio of porogen materials and dimension of sponges based on the purpose of the application.
Highlights
Porous scaffolds have been used for three-dimensional cell cultures to construct functional tissues and organs for transplantation [1,2,3,4]
NaCl particulates ranging between 90–150 μm, 150–250 μm, and 250–355 μm were used as the porogen materials and the ratio of polymer to NaCl particulates was 1 : 9. Figure 2 shows the gross appearance of cylinder-shaped poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA), poly(DL-lactic-coglycolic acid) (PLGA), and PCL sponges
The pore size and porosity could be controlled by the size and ratio of the porogen materials
Summary
Porous scaffolds have been used for three-dimensional cell cultures to construct functional tissues and organs for transplantation [1,2,3,4]. Various porous scaffolds have been developed from both synthetic and naturally derived polymers for tissue engineering and regeneration [5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12]. In addition to the ability to allow cell adhesion, promote cell proliferation and differentiation, assemble the cells and extracellular matrices, and guide the formation of functional tissues and organs, porous scaffolds should have high mechanical strength and high porosity [13, 14]. The mechanically strong synthetic polymers serve as a mechanical skeleton to support the hybrid porous scaffolds, whereas collagen sponges provide high porosity and a favorable microenvironment for cell proliferation and new tissue formation. The cylinder-shaped PLLA-collagen hybrid sponges showed high mechanical strength and high
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