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Synthesis of Porous Microparticles with Aligned Porosity
Author(s) -
Zhang H.,
Edgar D.,
Murray P.,
RakRaszewska A.,
GlenAlty L.,
Cooper A. I.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.200701309
Subject(s) - porosity , materials science , dissolution , composite number , microparticle , chemical engineering , polystyrene , porous medium , caprolactone , composite material , polymer , copolymer , engineering
Microparticles with controlled porosity have been widely used in various applications. In this Full Paper, a new method of freezing emulsions has been developed to prepare porous microparticles with unique aligned porosity. Aligned porous poly(ϵ‐caprolactone) microparticles are formed on an aligned porous polymeric composite. The aligned porous microparticles can be released simply by dissolving the supporting composite in water. The formation mechanism for the aligned porosity is discussed. The effects of freezing temperature and stirring speed are investigated. This method is also demonstrated to be generic in preparing porous microparticles with controlled porosity. As an example, polystyrene microparticles with different types of pores are produced. A preliminary study on the application of the porous microparticles in supporting stem cell growth is performed. It is found that poly(ϵ‐caprolactone) microparticles can support the growth of mouse embryo stem cells.