Assessment of tissue scaffold degradation using electrochemical techniques

Degradation of a commercially available collagen-glycosaminoglycan dermal equivalent matrix was studied using electrochemical techniques. Degradation was accelerated by exposure to gamma radiation followed by storage at elevated temperatures or exposure to enzymes. The time-dependent diffusion of a small, electrochemically active, molecular probe, potassium ferrocyanide, through the matrix was monitored via changes in the oxidation peak currents of cyclic voltammograms. These measurements were made using a two-compartment diffusion chamber with the sample positioned well away from the working electrodes and a single-compartment electrode cell where the matrix was in direct contact with the working electrode. The relative merits of these two approaches are considered. Regardless of the approach chosen, amperometry appears well suited to monitoring progressive diffusivity changes through mechanically weak porous structures subject to different solution environments.