Journal
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
Volume 348, Issue -, Pages 786-798Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA
DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2018.04.198
Keywords
Polyurethane; Porous scaffolds; Tissue engineering; Tunable properties; Elasticity
Categories
Funding
- NHLBI of the National Institutes of Health [U01HL134655]
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [51603075, 21604026]
- Kuo K. and Cindy F. Wang Professorship
- Wisconsin Institute for Discovery at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
- University of Wisconsin-Madison Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education
- Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
- NATIONAL HEART, LUNG, AND BLOOD INSTITUTE [U01HL134655] Funding Source: NIH RePORTER
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Mimicking the mechanical properties of native tissues is a critical criterion for an ideal tissue engineering scaffold. However, most biodegradable synthetic materials, including polyester-based polyurethanes (PUs), consist of rigid polyester chains and have high crystallinity. They typically lack the elasticity of most human tissues. In this study, a new type of biodegradable PU with excellent elasticity was synthesized based on the controlled crosslinking of poly(ester ether) triblock copolymer diols and polycaprolactone (PCL) triols using urethane linkages. Three-dimensional (3D) porous scaffolds with a defined geometry, tunable microstructures, and adjustable mechanical properties were synthesized in situ using an isocyanate-ended copolymer, a tri-armed PCL, and a chain extender. The mechanical properties of the scaffolds can be easily tuned by changing the ratio of reactants, varying the solution concentration, or using a porogen. Notably, all of these scaffolds, although mostly made of rigid PCL chains, showed remarkable elasticity and cyclical properties. With an optimized molecular design, a maximum recovery rate of 99.8% was achieved. This was because the copolymer provided molecular flexibility while the long chain crosslinking of PCL triol hindered crystallization, thus making the PU behave like an amorphous elastic material. Moreover, the in vitro cell culture of 3T3 fibroblasts and MG63 osteoblast-like cells confirmed the biocompatibility of these PU scaffolds and revealed that scaffolds with different stiffnesses can stimulate the proliferation of different types of cells. All of these attributes make PU scaffolds extremely suitable for the regeneration of tissues that experience dynamic loading.
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