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In vitro degradation of a unique porous PHBV scaffold manufactured using selective laser sintering
Author(s) -
Diermann Sven H.,
Lu Mingyuan,
Edwards Grant,
Dargusch Matthew,
Huang Han
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of biomedical materials research part a
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.849
H-Index - 150
eISSN - 1552-4965
pISSN - 1549-3296
DOI - 10.1002/jbm.a.36543
Subject(s) - materials science , degradation (telecommunications) , selective laser sintering , composite material , hydrolysis , hydrolytic degradation , porosity , compressive strength , biodegradation , plasticizer , scaffold , sintering , tissue engineering , chemical engineering , biomedical engineering , polymer , organic chemistry , medicine , telecommunications , chemistry , computer science , engineering
Biodegradable poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐co‐3‐hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) scaffolds have shown great promise for bone tissue engineering applications. The investigation of their hydrolytic degradation is thus essential to understand the effect of hydrolysis on the complex biodegradation behavior of PHBV scaffolds. In this study, we investigated the degradation behavior of high molecular weight PHBV scaffolds manufactured using selective laser sintering (SLS) without using predesigned porous architectures. The manufactured scaffolds have high specific surface areas with great water‐uptake abilities. After an incubation of 6 weeks in phosphate‐buffered saline solution, the structural integrity of the scaffolds was unaffected. However, a significant decrease in molecular weight ranging from 39% to 46% was found. The measured weight loss was negligible, but their compressive modulus and strength both decreased, likely due to water plasticization. These findings suggest that hydrolytic degradation of PHBV by means of bulk degradation was the predominant mechanism, attributed to their excellent water absorptivity. Overall, the PHBV scaffolds manufactured using SLS exhibited adequate mechanical properties and satisfactory structural integrity after incubation. As a result, the scaffolds have great potential as candidates for bone repair in clinical practice. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 107A: 154–162, 2019.