title: Partially nanofibrous architecture of 3D tissue engineering scaffolds.
abstract: An ideal tissue-engineering scaffold should provide suitable pores and appropriate pore surface to induce desired cellular activities and to guide 3D tissue regeneration. In the present work, we have developed macroporous polymer scaffolds with varying pore wall architectures from smooth (solid), microporous, partially nanofibrous, to entirely nanofibrous ones. All scaffolds are designed to have well-controlled interconnected macropores, resulting from leaching sugar sphere template. We examine the effects of material composition, solvent, and phase separation temperature on the pore surface architecture of 3D scaffolds. In particular, phase separation of PLLA/PDLLA or PLLA/PLGA blends leads to partially nanofibrous scaffolds, in which PLLA forms nanofibers and PDLLA or PLGA forms the smooth (solid) surfaces on macropore walls, respectively. Specific surface areas are measured for scaffolds with similar macroporosity but different macropore wall architectures. It is found that the pore wall architecture predominates the total surface area of the scaffolds. The surface area of a partially nanofibrous scaffold increases linearly with the PLLA content in the polymer blend. The amounts of adsorbed proteins from serum increase with the surface area of the scaffolds. These macroporous scaffolds with adjustable pore wall surface architectures may provide a platform for investigating the cellular responses to pore surface architecture, and provide us with a powerful tool to develop superior scaffolds for various tissue-engineering applications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2209, USA.
authors.forename: Guobao
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Peter X
authors.initials: PX
authors.lastname: Ma
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D040761:Biomimetic Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000737:chemistry*; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000737:chemistry*; D008422:Materials Testing; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D010316:Particle Size; D011091:Polyesters; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D016062:Porosity; D013499:Surface Properties; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D011091:Polyesters; D011108:Polymers; D019344:Lactic Acid; C033616:poly(lactide)
references.citation: J Biochem. 1997 Feb;121(2):317-24
references.pmid: 9089406
references.citation: Biomaterials. 1999 Mar;20(6):573-88
references.pmid: 10213360
references.citation: Biomaterials. 2007 Apr;28(13):2175-82
references.pmid: 17275082
references.citation: Adv Funct Mater. 2008 Nov 24;18(22):3566-3582
references.pmid: 19946357
references.citation: Biomaterials. 2006 Nov;27(32):5535-45
references.pmid: 16857257
references.citation: Biomaterials. 2004 May;25(11):2065-73
references.pmid: 14741621
references.citation: Biomaterials. 2007 Jan;28(2):335-43
references.pmid: 16854461
references.citation: J Biomed Mater Res. 1992 Apr;26(4):493-515
references.pmid: 1601902
references.citation: Science. 1963 Feb 1;139(3553):411-2
references.pmid: 13974905
references.citation: Tissue Eng. 2001 Feb;7(1):23-33
references.pmid: 11224921
references.citation: Tissue Eng Part A. 2009 Jul;15(7):1855-64
references.pmid: 19196152
references.citation: J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2004 Jul;86(7):1541-58
references.pmid: 15252108
references.citation: Novartis Found Symp. 2003;249:133-43; discussion 143-7, 170-4, 239-41
references.pmid: 12708654
references.citation: Adv Drug Deliv Rev. 2008 Jan 14;60(2):184-98
references.pmid: 18045729
references.citation: Biomaterials. 2004 Mar-Apr;25(7-8):1215-24
references.pmid: 14643595
references.citation: Biomaterials. 2009 May;30(13):2516-22
references.pmid: 19176243
references.citation: J Biomed Mater Res A. 2003 Aug 1;66(2):283-91
references.pmid: 12888998
references.citation: J Biomed Mater Res. 1999 Mar 15;44(4):446-55
references.pmid: 10397949
references.citation: Biomaterials. 2006 Jul;27(21):3973-9
references.pmid: 16564086
references.citation: J Biomed Mater Res A. 2003 Jun 15;65(4):447-53
references.pmid: 12761834
references.citation: Biomaterials. 2008 Oct;29(28):3815-21
references.pmid: 18617260
references.citation: Biomaterials. 2009 May;30(14):2735-40
references.pmid: 19203788
references.citation: J Biomed Mater Res A. 2003 Nov 1;67(2):531-7
references.pmid: 14566795
references.citation: Methods Enzymol. 1982;82 Pt A:535-44
references.pmid: 7078448
references.citation: J Biomed Mater Res. 2000;53(3):267-75
references.pmid: 10813767
references.citation: J Biomed Mater Res A. 2006 Aug;78(2):306-15
references.pmid: 16637043
references.citation: Tissue Eng Part A. 2009 Aug;15(8):2155-62
references.pmid: 19348597
references.citation: J Biomed Mater Res. 2001 Sep 15;56(4):469-77
references.pmid: 11400124