title: Architecture control of three-dimensional polymeric scaffolds for soft tissue engineering. I. Establishment and validation of numerical models.
abstract: One of the most important functions of artificial three-dimensional (3D) polymeric scaffolds is to serve as a physical support to provide tissues with an appropriate architecture for in vitro cell culture as well as in vivo tissue regeneration. The production of three-dimensional (3D) polymeric scaffolds with tailored macroporous architecture is thus a crucial step in promoting controlled vascularization and tissue growth within host environments. In this study, 3D poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) scaffolds were manufactured by a thermally induced phase-separation (TIPS) technique. By controlling the quenching strategy, 3D interconnected PLGA scaffolds with tunable pore size and alignment were obtained and characterized with the use of scanning electron microscopy (SEM). A series of numerical heat-transfer models were established in an effort to describe the cooling process within the PLGA freezing regime. Among them, a two-dimensional (2D) solidification model has proved to be the most successful in describing the quenching of the polymer solution and has the potential to be used to infer the various 3D macroporous architectures created from different quenching conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010 Australia.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Malcolm R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Davidson
authors.forename: Andrea J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: O'Connor
authors.forename: Geoffrey W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Stevens
authors.forename: Justin J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Cooper-White
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D008422:Materials Testing; D008433:Mathematics; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D011100:Polyglycolic Acid / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D000077182:Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer; D011108:Polymers / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D013499:Surface Properties; D013696:Temperature; D013816:Thermodynamics; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D011108:Polymers; D000077182:Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer; D011100:Polyglycolic Acid; D019344:Lactic Acid