Synthesis and Characterization of Degradable Polar Hydrophobic Ionic Polyurethane Scaffolds for Vascular Tissue Engineering Applications

• Published in: Biomacromolecules Vol. 10; no. 10; pp. 2729 - 2739
• Main Authors: Sharifpoor, Soroor, Labow, Rosalind S, Santerre, J. Paul
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Chemical Society 12.10.2009
• Subjects: Animals; Applied sciences; Biological and medical sciences; Blood Vessels - cytology; Cell Adhesion; Cell Proliferation; Cells, Cultured; Exact sciences and technology; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Medical sciences; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; Organic polymers; Physicochemistry of polymers; Polymers with particular properties; Polyurethanes - chemical synthesis; Preparation, kinetics, thermodynamics, mechanism and catalysts; Rats; Surgery (general aspects). Transplantations, organ and tissue grafts. Graft diseases; Technology. Biomaterials. Equipments; Tissue Engineering; Biological properties; Cell proliferation; Swelling; Tissue engineering; Mechanical properties; Composition effect; Experimental study; Methyl methacrylate copolymer; Urethane copolymer; Porous material; Polyaddition; Macromer; Crosslinked copolymer; Methacrylic acid copolymer; Morphology; Preparation; Polyurethane; Cell adhesion; Biomaterial; Radical copolymerization; Framework
• DOI: 10.1021/bm9004194
• ISSN: 1525-7797

In tissue engineering, the ability to manipulate scaffold design characteristics is important to achieve functional tissue regeneration. In this study, degradable polar hydrophobic ionic polyurethane (D-PHI) porous scaffolds were synthesized using a lysine-based divinyl oligomer (DVO). Optimization studies on the DVO and D-PHI scaffold synthesis were conducted to maximize isocyanate and methacrylate monomer conversion, respectively. D-PHI scaffold properties were manipulated through the introduction of a lysine-based cross-linker. Specifically, increasing D-PHI cross-linker concentration resulted in an increase of the elastic modulus (0.5−21 MPa), a decrease of the elongation-at-yield (45−5%) and a reduction of scaffold swelling (170−100%). Based on a preliminary study with A10 vascular smooth muscle cells, D-PHI scaffolds demonstrated the ability to support cell adhesion and growth during 2 weeks of culture, suggesting their potential suitability for longer term vascular tissue engineering. The versatility of the D-PHI properties may allow for the tailoring of cell−material interaction and ultimately functional tissue regeneration.