Journal
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE-MATERIALS IN MEDICINE
Volume 25, Issue 9, Pages 2083-2093Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s10856-014-5256-7
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Funding
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) through Network for Innovative Plastic Materials and Manufacturing Processes (NIP-MMP)
- NSERC
- Fonds de Recherche en Sante du Quebec (FRQ-S, Bourse de Carriere Nationale)
- Mentor program for MBA
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Porous structures destined for tissue engineering applications should ideally show controlled and narrow pore size distributions with fully interconnected pores. This study focuses on the development of novel poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL) structures with fully connected pores of 84, 116, 141, and 162 mu m average diameter, from melt blending of PCL with poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) at the co-continuous composition, followed by static annealing and selective extraction of PEO. Our results demonstrate a low onset concentration for PEO continuity and a broad region of phase inversion. A novel in vitro assay was used to compare scaffold infiltration by 10-mu m diameter polystyrene beads intended to mimic trypsinized human bone marrow stromal cells (hBMSCs). Beads showed a linear increase in the extent of scaffold infiltration with increasing pore size, whereas BMSCs infiltrated 162 and 141 mu m pores, below which the cells aggregated and adhered near the seeding area with low infiltration into the porous device. While providing a baseline for non-aggregated systems, the beads closely mimic trypsinized cells at pore sizes equal to or larger than 141 mu m, where optimal retention and distribution of hBMSCs are detected. A cytotoxicity assay using L929 cells showed that these scaffolds were cytocompatible and no cell necrosis was detected. This study shows that a melt blending approach produces porous PCL scaffolds of highly controlled pore size, narrow size distribution and complete interconnectivity, while the bead model system reveals the baseline potential for a homogeneous, non-aggregated distribution of hBMSCs at all penetration depths.
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