A Microfabrication Method of PCL Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering by Simultaneous Two PDMS Molds Replication

Not very far away, "tissue engineering" will become one of the most important branches of medical science for curing many types of diseases. This branch needs the cooperation of a wide range of sciences like medicine, chemistry, cellular biology, and genetic and mechanical engineering. Different parameters affect the final produced tissue, but the most important one is the quality and biocompatibility of the scaffold with the desired tissue which can provide the functionality of "native ECM" as well. The quality of the scaffold is directly dependent on its materials, design, and method of fabrication. As to the design and fabrication, there are two main categories: (a) random microporosity such as phase separation, electrospinning, and fused deposition modeling (3D printing) and (b) designed microporosity mostly achievable by stereo lithography and soft lithography. The method of fabrication implemented in this research is a novel method in soft lithography employing a type of "replica molding" with one pair of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) molds in contrast to traditional replica molding with just one single mold. In this operation, the solution of polycaprolactone in chloroform is initially prepared, and one droplet of the solution is placed between the molds while a preset pressure is applied to maintain the molds tightly together during the solidification of the polymer layer and vaporization of the solvent. Thus, a perfect warp and woof pattern is created. In this research, it has been approved that this is a feasible method for creating complex patterns and simple straight fiber patterns with different spacings and pore sizes. Cell attachment and migration was studied to find the optimum pore size. It was shown that the small pore size improves the cells' adhesion while reducing cell migration capability within the scaffold.