Fabrication of porous polymeric structures using a simple sonication technique for tissue engineering

• Published in: Journal of polymer engineering Vol. 37; no. 9; pp. 943 - 951
• Main Authors: Álvarez-Suarez, Alan Saúl, López-Maldonado, Eduardo Alberto, Graeve, Olivia A., Martinez-Pallares, Fabián, Gómez-Pineda, Luis Enrique, Oropeza-Guzmán, Mercedes Teresita, Iglesias, Ana Leticia, Ng, Theodore, Serena-Gómez, Eduardo, Villarreal-Gómez, Luis Jesús
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: De Gruyter 27.11.2017
• Subjects: grafting substitute; porous scaffold; sonication; tissue engineering
• ISSN: 0334-6447; 2191-0340
• DOI: 10.1515/polyeng-2016-0423

Porous polymeric scaffolds have been applied successfully in the biomedical field. This work explores the use of an ultrasonic probe to generate cavitation in a polymeric solution, thus producing pores in the polymeric scaffolds. Porous polymeric structures with average pore sizes ranging from 5 to 63 μm and porosity of 6–44% were fabricated by a process consisting of sonication, flash freezing, and lyophilization of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), gelatin (GEL), chitosan (CS) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVAL) solutions. Pore structure was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and image analysis software. The infrared spectra were analyzed before and after the fabrication process to observe any change in the chemical structure of the polymers. A water absorption test indicated the susceptibility of the samples to retain water in their structure. TGA results showed that GEL experienced degradation at 225°C, CS had a decomposition peak at 280°C, the thermal decomposition of PLGA occurred at 375°C, and PVAL showed two degradation regions. The DSC analysis showed that the glass transition temperature (T ) of GEL, CS, PLGA and PVAL occurred at 70°C, 80°C, 60°C and 70°C, respectively. The fabricated porous structures demonstrated similar physical characteristics to those found in bone and cartilage.