On the Use of Gamma Radiation to Change the Characteristics of Porous Poly(caprolactone) Tissue Scaffolds

Optimizing the structural of porous tissue scaffolds to maximize their performance in tissue engineering applications is difficult and time-consuming. The interdependence of different processing parameters means that it is difficult to optimize the properties of the scaffolds during manufacture. The authors report a simple method of changing the permeability of polycaprolactone scaffolds through controlled exposure to gamma radiation. 30kGy of gamma radiation increases the permeability of water and bovine serum albumin through the scaffolds by approximately 80%. The authors also demonstrate that performance measures can detect subtle changes in complex structures that are difficult to detect using SEM.