title: Systematic selection of solvents for the fabrication of 3D combined macro- and microporous polymeric scaffolds for soft tissue engineering.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Tristan I
authors.initials: TI
authors.lastname: Croll
authors.forename: Andrea J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Oconnor
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; D055592:Biophysical Phenomena; D001703:Biophysics; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D008422:Materials Testing; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D009994:Osmolar Concentration; D011100:Polyglycolic Acid / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D000077182:Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer; D011108:Polymers / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D016062:Porosity; D012995:Solubility; D012997:Solvents / Q000737:chemistry; D013696:Temperature; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D011108:Polymers; D012997:Solvents; D000077182:Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer; D011100:Polyglycolic Acid; D019344:Lactic Acid