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A Facile and Eco-friendly Route to Fabricate Poly(Lactic Acid) Scaffolds with Graded Pore Size
Published on: October 17, 2016
Fabrication and characterization of porous poly(L-lactide) scaffolds using solid-liquid phase separation
1Division of Bioengineering, School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, 639798, Singapore.
Journal of Materials Science. Materials in Medicine
|January 26, 2008
Summary
Freeze-extraction creates highly porous poly(L-lactide) scaffolds efficiently. This method avoids freeze-drying issues and yields promising materials for tissue engineering applications.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Science
- Tissue Engineering
Background:
- Freeze-drying is a common method for creating porous scaffolds.
- Freeze-drying can be time-consuming, energy-intensive, and lead to surface skin formation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop an efficient freeze-extraction method for fabricating porous poly(L-lactide) scaffolds.
- To investigate the impact of freezing temperature, medium, and polymer concentration on scaffold properties.
Main Methods:
- Utilized freeze-extraction based on phase separation.
- Investigated varying freezing temperatures (-80°C and -24°C), media (dry ice/ethanol bath and freezer), and poly(L-lactide) concentrations (1-5 wt.%).
- Analyzed scaffold morphology using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM).
Main Results:
- Achieved highly porous scaffolds (90-98% porosity) with a ladder-like architecture.
- Pore size ranged from 20-40 micrometers.
- Optimal pore interconnectivity and open architecture were obtained using a -80°C dry ice/ethanol bath.
- Ladder-like architecture formed at poly(L-lactide) concentrations above 3 wt.%.
- Scaffold properties varied with polymer concentration, affecting porosity and mechanical resistance.
Conclusions:
- Freeze-extraction is an effective, rapid alternative to freeze-drying for scaffold fabrication.
- The method yields highly porous, interconnected poly(L-lactide) scaffolds suitable for tissue engineering.
- Controlling process parameters like temperature and concentration allows tailoring of scaffold morphology and properties.
