Using hydrophilic ionic liquids as a facile route to prepare porous-structured biopolymer scaffolds

A simple new methodology to preapre 3-dimensional (3D) porous scaffold of biodegradable polymer was exploited by using hydrophilic types of ionic liquids. The mixture of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and ionic liquid within dichloromethane solvent was phase-separated during the solvent evaporation, after which the ionic liquid phase was selectively extracted to provide interconnected macropores. The pore sizes of the PLA scaffold were highly dependent on the types of ionic liquids (anion variant), ranging from tens to hundreds of micrometers, and the porosity reached to -85-95%. The ionic liquid-directed technique to prepare porous structure reported for the first time herein will be highly effective in the development of polymer skeletons for tissue engineering biomaterials. In addition, the ionic liquids recovered by a simple extraction with ethanol or water can be reused for subsequent runs without the loss of its physicochemical properties. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.