Peracetic Acid Sterilization Induces Divergent Biological Response in Polymeric Tissue Engineering Scaffolds

Synthetic polymers offer control over composition, architecture, mechanical properties and degradation kinetics. Predictable sterilization of synthetic polymeric scaffolds made from low temperature melting polymers, remains a challenge to clinical translation. We previously demonstrated successful room temperature sterilization of electrospun polycaprolactone scaffolds (ePCL) using peracetic acid (PA). The current paper investigates the effects of PA sterilization on two different scaffolds types-ePCL and commercially available porous polystyrene (Alvetex (R)) scaffolds using mouse calvarial osteoblasts cell line (MC3T3) and Live-Dead Assay. We report cytotoxicity in PA-treated ePCL scaffolds (PA-ePCL), while control scaffolds strongly supported cell survival. Treatment of PA-ePCL scaffolds with known methods of PA residual elimination (sodium thiosulfate, catalase, washing and aeration) had minimal effect on MC3T3 survival. However, incubation in 80% ethanol for 30 min successfully eliminated the toxic PA residuals and restored scaffold cytocompatibility. On the other hand, PA treatment of Alvetex (R) scaffolds induced diametrically opposite effects: cell survival and proliferation was enhanced after PA exposure and these responses were reversed following ethanol wash. These results suggest that PA treatment can induce different biological effects based on polymer chemistry and scaffold architecture and presents interesting opportunities to modulate biological properties of tissue engineering scaffolds.