Fabrication of fibrillated and interconnected porous poly(ε-caprolactone) vascular tissue engineering scaffolds by microcellular foaming and polymer leaching.

ABSTRACT: This paper provides a method combining eco-friendly supercritical CO₂ microcellular foaming and polymer leaching to fabricate small-diameter vascular tissue engineering scaffolds. The relationship between pore morphology and mechanical properties, and the cytocompatibility, are investigated with respect to the effects of poly(ε-caprolactone)/poly(ethylene oxide) (PCL/PEO) phase morphologies and PEO leaching. When PEO content increases, the pore size decreases and the pore density increases. After the leaching process, highly interconnected and fibrillated porous structures are detected in the foamed PCL70 blend with droplet-matrix morphologies. Moreover, the leaching process had a greater contribution to improve the open-cell content in the PCL50 blend, which has a co-continuous

SUBMITTER: Hou J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9050225 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature