title: Fabrication and characterization of injection molded poly (ε-caprolactone) and poly (ε-caprolactone)/hydroxyapatite scaffolds for tissue engineering.
abstract: In this study, poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL)/sodium chloride (NaCl), PCL/poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)/NaCl and PCL/PEO/NaCl/hydroxyapatite (HA) composites were injection molded and characterized. The water soluble and sacrificial polymer, PEO, and NaCl particulates in the composites were leached by deionized water to produce porous and interconnected microstructures. The effect of leaching time on porosity, and residual contents of NaCl and NaCl/HA, as well as the effect of HA addition on mechanical properties was investigated. In addition, the biocompatibility was observed via seeding human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) on PCL and PCL/HA scaffolds. The results showed that the leaching time depends on the spatial distribution of sacrificial PEO phase and NaCl particulates. The addition of HA has significantly improved the elastic (E') and loss moduli (E″) of PCL/HA scaffolds. Human MSCs were observed to have attached and proliferated on both PCL and PCL/HA scaffolds. Taken together, the molded PCL and PCL/HA scaffolds could be good candidates as tissue engineering scaffolds. Additionally, injection molding would be a potential and high throughput technology to fabricate tissue scaffolds.
authors.affiliation: Zhengzhou University, Henan, China.
authors.forename: Zhixiang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.affiliation: University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
authors.forename: Brenton
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.affiliation: University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
authors.forename: YiYan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Ke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
authors.forename: Srikanth
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pilla
authors.affiliation: University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
authors.forename: Wan-Ju
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin, USA; South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China; Huazhong University of Science of Technology, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Lih-Sheng
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Turng
authors.affiliation: Zhengzhou University, Henan, China.
authors.forename: Changyu
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Shen
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D017886:Durapatite / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D008422:Materials Testing / Q000379:methods; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000737:chemistry; D011091:Polyesters / Q000737:chemistry*; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry; D016062:Porosity; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000737:chemistry; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry*; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D011091:Polyesters; D011108:Polymers; D014867:Water; C016240:polycaprolactone; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D012965:Sodium Chloride; D017886:Durapatite