Guarino V, Ambrosio L
Institute of Composite and Biomedical Materials (IMCB-CNR), National Research Council, Naples, Italy.
Proc Inst Mech Eng H. 2010 Dec;224(12):1389-400. doi: 10.1243/09544119JEIM744.
The development of structures with a predefined multiscale pore network is a major challenge in designing tissue engineering (TE) scaffolds. To address this, several strategies have been investigated to provide biocompatible, biodegradable porous materials that would be suitable for use as scaffolds, and able to guide and facilitate the cell activity involved in the generation of new tissue regeneration. This study seeks to provide an overview of different temperature-driven process technologies for developing scaffolds with tailored porosity, in which pore size distribution is strictly defined and pores are fully interconnected. Here, three-dimensional (3D) porous composite scaffolds based on poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL) were fabricated by thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) and by melt co-continuous polymer blending (MCPB). The combination of these processes with a salt leaching technique enables the establishment of bimodal porosity within the polymer network. This feature may be exploited in the development of substrates with fully interconnected pores, which can be used effectively for tissue regeneration. Various combinations of the proposed techniques provide a range of procedures for the preparation of porous scaffolds with an appropriate combination of morphological and mechanical properties to reproduce the requisite features of the extracellular matrix (ECM) of hard tissues such as bone.
构建具有预定义多尺度孔隙网络的结构是组织工程（TE）支架设计中的一项重大挑战。为解决这一问题，人们研究了多种策略，以提供生物相容性好、可生物降解的多孔材料，这些材料适合用作支架，并能够引导和促进参与新组织再生的细胞活动。本研究旨在概述不同的温度驱动工艺技术，用于开发具有定制孔隙率的支架，其中孔径分布严格定义且孔隙完全相互连通。在此，基于聚己内酯（PCL）的三维（3D）多孔复合支架通过热致相分离（TIPS）和熔体共连续聚合物共混（MCPB）制备而成。这些工艺与盐析技术相结合，能够在聚合物网络内建立双峰孔隙率。这一特性可用于开发具有完全相互连通孔隙的基质，可有效用于组织再生。所提出技术的各种组合提供了一系列制备多孔支架的方法，这些支架具有形态和力学性能的适当组合，以重现硬组织（如骨骼）细胞外基质（ECM）的必要特征。
