PCL/Agarose 3D-printed scaffold for tissue engineering applications: fabrication, characterization, and cellular...

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Tissue Engineering
• Regenerative Medicine

Background:

• Tissue engineering faces challenges in biomaterial development, scaffold manufacturing, and achieving suitable mechanical properties.
• Polycaprolactone (PCL) is a common biomaterial, but its hydrophobic nature can limit cell interactions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To fabricate and characterize novel three-dimensional (3D) printed polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffolds coated with agarose (Ag) hydrogel.
• To evaluate the impact of agarose coating on the physical, mechanical, and biological properties of PCL scaffolds for tissue engineering.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of 3D printed PCL scaffolds and subsequent coating with 2% agarose hydrogel.
• Characterization of PCL and PCL/Ag scaffolds using mechanical testing, porosity, hydrophilicity, and water absorption measurements.
• Evaluation of scaffold morphology via FTIR and SEM, and assessment of L929 cell attachment and proliferation using MTT assay.

Main Results:

• PCL/Ag scaffolds exhibited enhanced hydrophilicity and water absorption compared to pure PCL scaffolds.
• Agarose coating insignificantly affected the mechanical strength of the PCL scaffolds.
• Cells cultured on PCL/Ag scaffolds showed improved attachment, spreading, and proliferation, indicated by elongated morphology, compared to cells on hydrophobic PCL scaffolds.

Conclusions:

• The incorporation of agarose hydrogel improves the biological performance of PCL scaffolds for tissue engineering.
• PCL/Ag scaffolds demonstrate promising potential for various tissue engineering applications due to enhanced cell-scaffold interactions.