Preparation of polycaprolactone microspheres-aggregated scaffold with ultra big pores and fuzzy sphere surface by a one-step phase separation method

A microspheres-aggregated scaffold with ultra big pores (over 300 m) and fuzzy microspheres is fabricated by incubating polycaprolactone (PCL)/tetrahydrofuran (THF) solution in a -20 degrees C refrigerator, following by freeze-drying. Formation of the scaffold is mainly governed by the crystallization of the PCL polymer at appropriate conditions. All the 10-20% PCL/THF solutions yield the microspheres-aggregated scaffolds when the initial solution temperature is higher than 37 degrees C, whereas the 10-15% solutions form dense membranes when the initial solution temperature is below 25 degrees C. The size of the microspheres and pores is as large as 70-150 m and 170-816 m, respectively. The PCL microspheres-aggregated scaffold can better support the adhesion and proliferation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) compared to the traditional porous scaffold obtained by a porogen leaching method. The tendencies of chondrogenesis and osteogenesis differentiation of BMSCs are observed on the microspheres-aggregated scaffold and the ordinary porous scaffold, respectively. (c) 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 101A: 3219-3227, 2013.