Yang Ding-Zhu, Chen Ai-Zheng, Wang Shi-Bin, Li Yi, Tang Xiao-Lin, Wu Yong-Jing
College of Chemical Engineering, Huaqiao University, Xiamen, Peopls's Republic of China.
Biomed Mater. 2015 Jun 24;10(3):035015. doi: 10.1088/1748-6041/10/3/035015.
Phase inversion using supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) has been widely used in the development of tissue engineering scaffolds, and particular attention has been given to obtaining desired morphology without additional post-treatments. However, the main challenge of this technique is the difficulty in generating a three-dimensional (3D) nanofiber structure with a rough surface in one step. Here, a poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) 3D nanofiber scaffold with a rough surface is obtained via phase inversion using SC-CO2 by carefully choosing fabrication conditions and porogens. It is found that this method can effectively modulate the structure morphology, promote the crystallization process of semicrystalline polymer, and induce the formation of rough structures on the surface of nanofibers. Meanwhile, the porogen of ammonium bicarbonate (AB) can produce a 3D structure with large pores, and porogen of menthol can improve the interconnectivity between the micropores of nanofibers. A significant increase in the fiber diameter is observed as the menthol content increases. Furthermore, the menthol may affect the mutual transition between the α' and α crystals of PLLA during the phase separation process. In addition, the results of protein adsorption, cell adhesion, and proliferation assays indicate that cells tend to have higher viability on the nanofiber scaffold. This process combines the characteristic properties of SC-CO2 and the solubility of menthol to tailor the morphology of polymeric scaffolds, which may have potential applications in tissue engineering.
使用超临界二氧化碳(SC-CO2)的相转化法已广泛应用于组织工程支架的开发,并且人们特别关注在无需额外后处理的情况下获得所需的形态。然而,该技术的主要挑战在于难以一步生成具有粗糙表面的三维(3D)纳米纤维结构。在此,通过仔细选择制备条件和成孔剂,利用SC-CO2相转化法获得了具有粗糙表面的聚(L-乳酸)(PLLA)3D纳米纤维支架。研究发现,该方法可有效调节结构形态,促进半结晶聚合物的结晶过程,并诱导纳米纤维表面形成粗糙结构。同时,碳酸氢铵(AB)成孔剂可产生具有大孔的3D结构,薄荷醇成孔剂可改善纳米纤维微孔之间的互连性。随着薄荷醇含量的增加,观察到纤维直径显著增大。此外,薄荷醇可能会影响相分离过程中PLLA的α'和α晶体之间的相互转变。此外,蛋白质吸附、细胞黏附和增殖试验结果表明,细胞在纳米纤维支架上往往具有更高的活力。该过程结合了SC-CO2的特性和薄荷醇的溶解性来定制聚合物支架的形态,这在组织工程中可能具有潜在应用。