Cao Yang, Croll Tristan I, Oconnor Andrea J, Stevens Geoffrey W, Cooper-White Justin J
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia.
J Biomater Sci Polym Ed. 2006;17(4):369-402. doi: 10.1163/156856206776374142.
In this study, we investigate the fabrication of 3D porous poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) scaffolds using the thermally-induced phase separation technique. The current study focuses on the selection of alternative solvents for this process using a number of criteria, including predicted solubility, toxicity, removability and processability. Solvents were removed via either vacuum freeze-drying or leaching, depending on their physical properties. The residual solvent was tested using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. A large range of porous, highly interconnected scaffold architectures with tunable pore size and alignment was obtained, including combined macro- and microporous structures and an entirely novel 'porous-fibre' structure. The morphological features of the most promising poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) scaffolds were analysed via scanning electron microscopy and X-ray micro-computed tomography in both two and three dimensions. The Young's moduli of the scaffolds under conditions of temperature, pH and ionic strength similar to those found in the body were tested and were found to be highly dependent on the architectures.
在本研究中，我们研究了使用热致相分离技术制备三维多孔聚乳酸-乙醇酸共聚物（PLGA）支架。当前研究聚焦于依据包括预测溶解度、毒性、可去除性和可加工性等多项标准，为该过程选择替代溶剂。根据溶剂的物理性质，通过真空冷冻干燥或浸出法去除溶剂。使用气相色谱-质谱联用仪检测残留溶剂。获得了一系列具有可调孔径和排列方式的多孔、高度互连的支架结构，包括宏观和微观多孔结构相结合以及全新的“多孔纤维”结构。通过扫描电子显微镜和X射线显微计算机断层扫描在二维和三维空间分析了最具潜力的聚乳酸-乙醇酸共聚物支架的形态特征。测试了在与人体相似的温度、pH值和离子强度条件下支架的杨氏模量，发现其高度依赖于结构。
