title: Compatibilized polymer blends based on PDLLA and PCL for application in bioartificial liver.
abstract: Porous scaffolds for tissue engineering applications based on poly(D,L-lactide)/poly(epsilon-caprolactone) compatibilized blends are described. The addition of a third polymer, namely poly( D, L-lactide-co-caprolactone) copolymer, has a profound effect on morphological properties of the blends scaffolds. In fact, the copolymer acts as compatibilizing agent and reduces the dimension of the dispersed phase of an order of magnitude. Such effect is function of the polymer composition. The efficiency of scaffolds obtained with poly( D, L-lactide) based blends containing 30% by weight of poly(epsilon-caprolactone) as dispersed phase toward hepatocytes has been tested by several biological assays and we found that they are able to promote a perfect adhesion, proliferation and growth of cells. Moreover, the addition of the copolymer significantly improves the biomedical performance of the scaffold.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Polymers Chemistry and Technology, CNR, Via Campi Flegrei 34, 80078 Pozzuoli, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Calandrelli
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Calarco
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Laurienzo
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Malinconico
authors.forename: Orsolina
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Petillo
authors.forename: Gianfranco
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Peluso
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D002334:Carnitine O-Palmitoyltransferase / Q000378:metabolism; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000032:analysis; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002850:Chromatography, Gel; D022781:Hepatocytes / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D019164:Liver, Artificial; D008297:Male; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D011091:Polyesters / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013499:Surface Properties; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D011091:Polyesters; C016240:polycaprolactone; C033616:poly(lactide); C062968:lactide-caprolactone copolymer; D002334:Carnitine O-Palmitoyltransferase