title: Development of a biodegradable scaffold with interconnected pores by heat fusion and its application to bone tissue engineering.
abstract: Tissue engineering has been proposed as an approach to alleviate the shortage of donor tissue and organs by combining cells and a biodegradable scaffold as a temporary extracellular matrix. While numerous scaffold fabrication methods have been proposed, tissue formation is typically limited to the surface of the scaffolds in bone tissue engineering applications due to early calcification on the surface. To improve tissue formation, a novel scaffold with a hierarchical interconnected pore structure on two distinct length scales has been developed. Here we present the fabrication process and the application of the scaffold to bone tissue engineering. Porous poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) scaffolds were made by combining solvent casting/particulate leaching with heat fusion. Porcine bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were differentiated into osteoblasts and cultured on these scaffolds in vitro for 2, 4, and 6 weeks. Subsequently, the constructs were assessed using histology and scanning electron microscopy. The bone marrow-derived osteoblasts attached well on these scaffolds. Cells were observed throughout the scaffolds. These initial results show promise for this scaffold to aid in the regeneration of bone.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Harutsugi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Abukawa
authors.forename: Maria J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Troulis
authors.forename: Joseph P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Vacanti
mesh_terms: D020341:Absorbable Implants; D000818:Animals; D018786:Bone Substitutes / Q000138:chemical synthesis; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D006358:Hot Temperature; D019344:Lactic Acid; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells; D010006:Osteoblasts; D011100:Polyglycolic Acid; D000077182:Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer; D011108:Polymers; D016062:Porosity; D013552:Swine; D013556:Swine, Miniature; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds
chemical_list: D018786:Bone Substitutes; D011108:Polymers; D000077182:Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer; D011100:Polyglycolic Acid; D019344:Lactic Acid