In vivo characterisation of a novel bioresorbable poly(lactide-co-glycolide) tubular foam scaffold for tissue engineering applications

• Published in: Journal of materials science. Materials in medicine Vol. 15; no. 6; pp. 729 - 734
• Main Authors: Day, Richard M, Boccaccini, Aldo R, Maquet, Veronique, Shurey, Sandra, Forbes, Alastair, Gabe, Simon M, Jérôme, Robert
• Format: Journal Article Web Resource
• Language: English
• Published: United States Springer Nature B.V 01.06.2004; Kluwer Academic Publ
• Subjects: Absorbable Implants - adverse effects; Animals; Biocompatible Materials - chemistry; biomaterial; Biomedical materials; Cell Division - physiology; Chemistry; Chimie; Dermatologic Surgical Procedures; Engineering, computing & technology; Fibroblasts - cytology; Fibroblasts - physiology; foam; Ingénierie, informatique & technologie; Lactic Acid - chemistry; Male; Materials science; Materials science & engineering; Materials Testing; Physical, chemical, mathematical & earth Sciences; Physique, chimie, mathématiques & sciences de la terre; Polyglycolic Acid - chemistry; Polymers - chemistry; Porosity; Rats; Rats, Inbred Lew; scaffold; Scanning electron microscopy; Science des matériaux & ingénierie; Skin - cytology; Surface Properties; Tissue engineering; Tissue Engineering - methods
• ISSN: 0957-4530; 1573-4838; 1573-4838
• DOI: 10.1023/B:JMSM.0000030216.73274.86

Polylactide-co-glycolide (PLGA) foams of tubular shape were assessed for their use as soft-tissue engineering scaffolds in vitro and in vivo. Porous membranes were fabricated by a thermally induced phase separation process of PLGA solutions in dimethylcarbonate. The parameters investigated were the PLGA concentration and the casting volume of solution. Membranes produced from 5 wt/v % polymer solutions and a 6 ml casting volume of polymer solution were selected for fabricating tubes of 3 mm diameter, 20 mm length and a nominal wall thickness of 1.5 mm. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the structure of the tubular foams consisted of radially oriented and highly interconnected pores with a large size distribution (50-300 microm). Selected tubes were implanted subcutaneously into adult male Lewis rats. Although the lumen of the tubes collapsed within one week of implantation, histological examination of the implanted scaffolds revealed that the foam tubes were well tolerated. Cellular infiltration into the foams, consisting mainly of fibrovascular tissue, was evident after two weeks and complete within eight weeks of implantation. The polymer was still evident in the scaffolds after eight weeks of implantation. The results from this study demonstrate that the PLGA tubular foams may be useful as soft-tissue engineering scaffolds with modification holding promise for the regeneration of tissues requiring a tubular shape scaffold such as intestine.