Dhillon A, Schneider P, Kuhn G, Reinwald Y, White L J, Levchuk A, Rose F R A J, Müller R, Shakesheff K M, Rahman C V
Division of Drug Delivery and Tissue Engineering, Centre for Biomolecular Sciences, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, UK.
J Mater Sci Mater Med. 2011 Dec;22(12):2599-605. doi: 10.1007/s10856-011-4443-z. Epub 2011 Sep 10.
The mechanical behaviour of polymer scaffolds plays a vital role in their successful use in bone tissue engineering. The present study utilised novel sintered polymer scaffolds prepared using temperature-sensitive poly(DL-lactic acid-co-glycolic acid)/poly(ethylene glycol) particles. The microstructure of these scaffolds was monitored under compressive strain by image-guided failure assessment (IGFA), which combined synchrotron radiation computed tomography (SR CT) and in situ micro-compression. Three-dimensional CT data sets of scaffolds subjected to a strain rate of 0.01%/s illustrated particle movement within the scaffolds with no deformation or cracking. When compressed using a higher strain rate of 0.02%/s particle movement was more pronounced and cracks between sintered particles were observed. The results from this study demonstrate that IGFA based on simultaneous SR CT imaging and micro-compression testing is a useful tool for assessing structural and mechanical scaffold properties, leading to further insight into structure-function relationships in scaffolds for bone tissue engineering applications.
聚合物支架的力学行为在其成功应用于骨组织工程中起着至关重要的作用。本研究采用了由温度敏感型聚（DL-乳酸-共-乙醇酸）/聚（乙二醇）颗粒制备的新型烧结聚合物支架。通过图像引导失效评估（IGFA）在压缩应变下监测这些支架的微观结构，该评估结合了同步辐射计算机断层扫描（SR CT）和原位微压缩。以0.01%/s的应变速率对支架进行三维CT数据集分析，结果表明支架内颗粒发生移动，但无变形或开裂现象。当使用0.02%/s的更高应变速率进行压缩时，颗粒移动更为明显，并且观察到烧结颗粒之间出现了裂纹。本研究结果表明，基于同步SR CT成像和微压缩测试的IGFA是评估支架结构和力学性能的有用工具，有助于进一步深入了解骨组织工程应用中支架的结构-功能关系。
