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Polylactide, Processed by a Foaming Method Using Compressed Freon R134a, for Tissue Engineering.
María Aguado1,2, Laura Saldaña2,3, Eduardo Pérez Del Río1,2
1Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona, ICMAB-CSIC, Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.
Polymers
|October 23, 2021
Summary
Freon R134a gas foaming offers a cost-effective method for creating porous polymer scaffolds. This technique yields scaffolds with improved properties for tissue engineering compared to supercritical CO2 methods.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Science
- Polymer Chemistry
- Tissue Engineering
Background:
- Fabricating cost-effective polymeric scaffolds for tissue engineering remains a challenge.
- Supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) gas foaming is promising but requires high pressures.
- Alternative foaming agents are needed to reduce technological barriers and equipment costs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the use of compressed Freon R134a as a foaming agent for polylactide (PLA) scaffold fabrication.
- To compare the properties of PLA scaffolds produced using Freon R134a with those produced using scCO2.
- To evaluate the cytocompatibility of Freon R134a-processed PLA scaffolds with human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs).
Main Methods:
- Utilized compressed Freon R134a for gas foaming of polylactide (PLA) to create porous scaffolds.
- Processed poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) scaffolds using Freon R134a.
- Characterized scaffold pore size, total porosity, and mechanical properties.
- Cultured human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) on PLA scaffolds and assessed cell attachment, metabolic activity, morphology, actin cytoskeleton, and fibronectin matrix.
- Functionalized PLA scaffolds with protein nanoparticles to enhance cytocompatibility.
Main Results:
- Freon R134a processing resulted in PLA scaffolds with larger pore sizes and higher total porosity compared to scCO2.
- PLA scaffolds processed with Freon R134a demonstrated appropriate mechanical properties for tissue engineering applications.
- PLGA scaffolds processed with Freon R134a were highly porous but exhibited a fragile structure.
- MSCs successfully attached to Freon R134a-processed PLA scaffolds, showing increased metabolic activity and spread morphology with organized cytoskeletal and extracellular matrix components.
- Functionalization with protein nanoparticles further improved the cytocompatibility of Freon R134a-processed PLA scaffolds.
Conclusions:
- Compressed Freon R134a is a viable, cost-effective foaming agent for producing porous polymeric scaffolds.
- This method offers advantages over scCO2 due to lower pressure and temperature requirements.
- Freon R134a-processed PLA scaffolds support MSC attachment, proliferation, and differentiation, indicating potential for tissue engineering.
- Freon R134a gas foaming represents an environmentally friendly fabrication technology for tissue engineering scaffolds.
